Severely depleted Zimbabwe were 70 for the loss of five wickets at lunch on the first day of the second and final Test against the West Indies in Bulawayo on Sunday.

Innocent Kaia was the only batsman to make an impression, scoring 38 before a thick outside edge proved his undoing as he was caught by first slip Kyle Mayers.

Captain Craig Ervine was unbeaten on 18 after the first session at the Queens Sports Club in the southwestern city.

Former West Indies captain Jason Holder and Gudakesh Motie shared the bowling honours with two wickets each on a batting-friendly pitch.

Zimbabwe suffered a huge pre-match blow when star batter Gary Ballance was ruled out having failed to fully recover from migraine headaches.

The home team also lacked prolific run-getter Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl, who were released to play franchise cricket in the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh respectively.

Injuries sidelined captain and all-rounder Sean Williams and fast bowlers Blessing Muzarabani and Tendai Chatara.

The tourists made one change from the drawn first Test with fast bowler Shannon Gabriel recalled in place of Kemar Roach for his first Test appearance since November 2021.