HARARE – A second washout in three games handed Zimbabwe a 1-0 T20I series win to end their home summer on a high. There was space for just one innings as rain delayed the toss by 45 minutes and then returned during the innings break to have the final word.
Zimbabwe had a stop-start innings after being put into bat in the 18-overs-a-side contest. They stretched their way to 142 thanks to Sikandar Raza taking control after having come in at 18 for 2, before Tashinga Musekiwa and Tony Munyonga’s cameos provided late acceleration.
Craig Young and Gareth Delany picked up two wickets each for Ireland. The bowlers did have trouble gripping the moist ball, but managed to keep the run rate at a shade under eight an over.
The evening started with Paul Stirling winning the toss and Ireland striking twice in the first three overs. Young found seam movement to have Tadiwanashe Marumani caught behind. Matthew Humphreys then darted in an arm ball from around the wicket to smash Wessly Madhevere’s stumps.
Raza started off with a streaky boundary over short third before going through a couple of tense moments. He was in pain after edging a mistimed pull on to his leg, he survived an lbw call off Josh Little in the seventh over, and an edge off his bat didn’t carry to wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker in the eighth.
He did dispatch a Fionn Hand slower ball over long-on and pumped Humphreys for a four and a six. But when he tried a flat-bat hit off Delany, the ball seemed to hold up in the pitch and ended up in Harry Tector’s hands at long-on.
Delany got Brian Bennett four balls later with a ball that bounced low to take an edge and flatten leg stump as Zimbabwe slumped to 67 for 4. However, that was the only over Delany bowled for the day.
Munyonga got a fortunate boundary in the 11th over as debutant Tim Tector, at long-on, came in too close and the ball soared over him for a boundary. Ryan Burl offered two near chances in the following over off Hand, neither of which carried to the outfielders running in. The duo picked up seven twos, four of them in the 13th over, in their 27-run stand. That was broken by Little, who had Burl caught at deep third.
Musekiwa launched Young for two sixes in the 15th over, the first of which brought up Zimbabwe’s hundred, before pulling a half-tracker from Little into the grass banks. Musekiwa got a free hit after Hand, in a bid to keep the ball out of the arc, delivered a ball so wide that it was outside the cut strip. But a wide later, he missed out on a full-toss free hit.
Munyonga had near chances in the 16th over, both of which resulted in twos, but fell to Young in the final over, trying to swipe the ball over long-on. Wellington Masakadza got a boundary off his first ball, but Young bowled four yorkers on the bounce to keep the batters quiet.
With dew around, Ireland would have fancied their chances of chasing down the total and ensuring that Zimbabwe finished their home summer without a series win, but it was not to be. – ESPNCricinfo
