Zimbabwe 166 (Masakadza 40, Burl 38, Little 6-36) lost to Ireland 170 for 6 (Campher 66, Tucker 28, Muzarabani 2-23, Mavuta 2-37) by four wickets.
With a four-wicket victory, Josh Little’s squad took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. Little’s statistics were the most for an Ireland player in ODI history.
Little reduced the hosts to 19 for 4 after taking four wickets, including three in one over, to completely destroy the Zimbabwe top order. Little claimed 6 for 36 in 10 overs as Zimbabwe was bowled out for 166 in 42.5 overs, with Ryan Burl, Clive Madande, and Wellington Masakadza holding steady for a while. Curtis Campher hit a 66 from 71 balls in response, helping Ireland win in 40.1 overs.
Sikandar Raza chose to bat beneath clear sky, little did he know that he would be rudely awakened. Tinashe Kamunhukamwe hit two fours off Mark Adair, but George Dockrell made a nice grab leaping forward after he was unable to hold a little short ball. After two balls, Lorcan Tucker was presented with an easy catch behind the stumps by Miton Shumba, who had poked at an away-swinger. In the fourth over, Little struck for the third time when, after a hard fought crease stand, he bottom-edged an in-decker back onto his stumps.
After four overs, Zimbabwe were down to 16 for 3, and Little made their situation even worse by dismissing their skipper Raza in the following over after he had similarly chopped a length ball onto his off stump.
After then, Burl and Madande performed a little revival. For the fifth wicket, the pair contributed 45 runs off 74 balls, with Madande leading the attack with a score of 33 off 42 balls. Harry Tector squandered a difficult chance at backward point, giving him a life on five, but he gained confidence. Andy McBrine brilliantly moved deep midwicket to his left to conclude his innings.
After Zimbabwe were reduced to 70 for 6 in 22 overs, Brandon Mavuta arrived and went. However, a 63-run partnership between Burl and Masakadza for the seventh wicket stopped the collapse.
Masakadza entered the game and immediately hit Little for two fours before launching McBrine over deep midwicket into the stands. Burl, who had been cautious up until that point, also broke free by throwing Graham Hume into midfield.
After removing Masakadza to secure his first five-wicket haul in an ODI, Little returned to break the encouraging stand and dismiss Ngarava for one. In the 43rd over, Mark Adair brought the Zimbabwean innings to an end. After being hit by a Little short ball in the tenth over, Burl suffered a concussion and was replaced by Tony Munyonga in the second innings.
The pitch was not very favorable for hitters, as Andy Balbirnie quickly discovered when an away-swinging Richard Ngarava ball gave his off pole a walk on the opening ball. Paul Stirling struck first with a clean drive, but Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani maintained the pressure. On 13, the keeper dropped Stirling, but he was unable to capitalize, and Muzarabani quickly castled him. After the first powerplay, Ireland could only muster 29 for 2, with both of their front-line seamers bowling at the same pace.
Tanaka Chivanga, the first-change bowler, couldn’t maintain the pressure, though. After being taken for three consecutive fours by Campher, he gave up 15 runs in his opening over. Muzarabani continued to chugg along, hitting four two fours in his next.
Tector and Campher put up 52 for the third wicket before Mavuta bowled the former with a brilliant legbreak. Nevertheless, Campher persisted and discovered support in Lorcan Tucker.
When rain stopped play with the visitors at 101 for 3 after 25, requiring 66 off 25 overs, the two moved Ireland closer to the mark. During the rain break, Campher staggered off into the changing room while gripping at his side, but as play restarted, he made his way back into the center.
While Zimbabwe did not lose any overs, they did manage to stir some agitation in the Irish side with a couple of their punches. Campher hit two fours after reaching his fifty off of 58 balls. However, he was shortly bowled out clean by Mavuta when he failed to sweep a full-length ball. Tucker then saw the back of Muzarabani for 28 as he completed with outstanding 10-2-23-2 numbers.
But Adair and Dockrell maintained their poise, putting up 34 for the sixth wicket. When the score was down to one run, Dockrell was out, and Adair ended the match with a ramp over the head of the wicketkeeper.
