Ireland levelled the three-match series 1-1 with a thumping seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the third ODI at the Civil Service Cricket Club, Belfast.
After being asked to bat, Zimbabwe stumbled against Irish seamers and spinners right from the beginning, and were skittled out for 131 in 34 overs in a rain-affected contest. Ireland then faced, and chased down the revised target of 118 with 58 balls to spare.
Earlier, the toss was delayed by two hours and 15 minutes because of the rain’s arrival early in the morning. For that, the match was reduced to 42 overs a side. The next interruption, which happened during the Zimbabwe innings, cut four overs further.
Brendan Taylor received a guard of honour from his teammates on his last international match, but only managed seven before Josh Little cleaned him up in the fourth over. With that, Taylor finished his ODI career with 6684 runs, the second-highest for Zimbabwe in the 50-over format.
Little then got Regis Chakabva in a similar fashion in his next over. Zimbabwe were down to 15/2, and Craig Ervine and Wesley Madhevere revived their innings from there. They stitched a 59-run stand before Shane Getkate removed Madhevere (16) in the 16th over.
The dismissal of Madhevere triggered a collapse. Zimbabwe were in good control at 74/2, but lost their last eight wickets for just 57. Barring Ervine, who received little support from his teammates, singularly scored the same, that too in 65 balls. The others could not even reach 17.
With 3-26, Andy McBrine was the most impressive Irish bowler. He was ably assisted by Little (3-33) and Simi Singh (2-35).
The rain came back again after the Zimbabwe innings, which changed the target from 132 to 118 in 32 overs for Ireland. William Porterfield and Paul Stirling did not disappoint, adding 48 in 56 balls to lay the foundation.
In the 10th over, Porterfield nicked Blessing Muzarabani to Regis Chakabva to give Zimbabwe some hope, but Stirling and Andy Balbirnie played according to the situation to take Ireland close to the victory. They both eventually failed to stay till the end, but Harry Tector and George Dockrell reached the target with 58 balls to spare.
Brief scores: Zimbabwe 131 in 34 overs (Craig Ervine 57; Andy McBrine 3-25) lost to Ireland 118/3 in 22.2 overs (Paul Stirling 43; Wellington Masakadza 1-9) by 7 wickets with 58 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Andy McBrine.
Ireland drew with Zimbabwe 1-1. Player of the Series: Andy McBrine.