Chevrons on the ropes

having hurriedly scored 153 runs in 36 overs in the first session.

Chanderpaul got another life when he was dropped first ball after the break, with Tsiga again failing to latch on. However, Mavuta continued to keep the ball in good areas and was rewarded with the wickets of Raymon Reifer and Jermaine Blackwood in quick succession.

Chanderpaul, though, carried on. He went after Masakadza, smashing him for a four and a six in an over to move swiftly through the 180s even as Mavuta continued to pick wickets at the other end. The legspinner had Roston Chase edging for 7 before removing Jason Holder to claim his maiden five-wicket haul.

It took Chanderpaul a while to reach his double ton, but he got there in style by lofting Masakadza over mid-off for a six. That also took him past his father Tanunurwa Makoni, both on Test debut then survived the ten overs before tea to give their side a steady start.

With the sun baking down on the Bulawayo surface, batting on the third evening became a touch easier, and the openers made it count. Kaia was the aggressor, often bringing out the expansive cuts and pulls, while Makoni was committed to the front foot. The opposition captain Brathwaite rang the changes, but there was little on offer for the bowlers as the pair raised the 50-run stand in 22 overs.

It was Alzarri Joseph who then struck for West Indies, inducing a thick edge off Makoni’s blade with Mayers at first slip hanging onto an excellent catch. New batter Chamu Chibhabha struck a four off his second ball, but Gudakesh Motie soon snapped him up for 9.

Kaia continued playing his strokes, and brought up his maiden Test fifty with a hard sweep through midwicket off Motie. Just when Zimbabwe would have harboured hopes of going into stumps two down, Brathwaite brought himself on and cleaned up his opposite number Craig Ervine off what turned out to be the last ball of the day.