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The Irish bowlers were right on the money on Monday. Despite Ervine’s 57, Zimbabwe was all out for 131. Men in Green reached the target with seven wickets in hand.
Ireland won the toss and elected to field first in the rain-hit 38 overs match. Joshua Little got the bowling side off to an ideal beginning by dismissing the openers early. Craig Ervine (57 off 65) batted well, but he had no support from other batsmen. Just two of the remaining batsmen managed to reach a double-digit score.
Andy McBrine (3 for 26) was sensational as he bowled two maiden overs and dismissed Craig Ervine. Joshua Little (3 for 33) and Simi Singh (2 for 35) also played a significant role in the Zimbabwe batting collapse.
The match had been reduced from 38 to 32 overs. This meant Ireland had to reach the target of 118 at a required run rate of 3.68.
Ireland batsmen made light work of the target. It was looking as if they were batting on a completely different pitch. During the run chase, Paul Stirling (43 off 40) and skipper Andrew Balbirnie (34 off 43) were the main protagonists.
Apart from Blessing Muzarabani’s opening spell, the Zimbabwe bowlers didn’t cause much threat to the batsmen. The highly-rated pacer bowled two maidens and conceded just 13 runs during his seven-over spell, during which he picked up the vital wicket of William Porterfield.
Ireland reached the reduced target of 118 with 58 balls to spare in the shortened format of 32 overs due to DLS. As the 2nd ODI was washed out, the series ended on level terms as both teams won an ODI each.
Brief Scores
Zimbabwe: 131/10 in 34/38 overs (Ervine 57, Madhevere 16; McBrine 3/26, Little 3/33) lost to
Ireland: 118/3 in 22.2/32 overs (Stirling 43, Balbirnie 34; Masakadza 1-9; Muzarabani 1/13)
Man of the Match
Andy McBrine
