A scintillating century by Mary-Anne Musonda made headlines in Zimbabwe Women's first ever ODI, which was also the the first ODI of the four-match series between Zimbabwe and Ireland, in Harare. Musonda (debuting, of course, like all her teammates) struck nine fours in her unbeaten 114-ball 103 to to help Zimbabwe win with four wickets and 37 balls to spare.
This, despite Zimbabwe not having the best of starts. They lost Chiedza Dhururu in the first over, bowled by Sophie MacMahon (1-23). Modester Mupachikwa (11) did not last long either, as they slipped to 25/2 in 5.2 overs.
Ashley Ndiraya (24) and Musonda held the fort, adding 57 for the third wicket before Ndiraya was undone in the 14th over by Cara Murray (2-47). Musonda took charge from there, and almost single-handedly took the game away from Ireland, though she received support from Josephine Nkomo (25) and Precious Marange (27 in 23 balls).
Earlier, Laura Delany top-scored with an 81-ball 86 in Ireland’s 253/8 after Musonda won the toss and asked them to bat. Gaby Lewis (24), Rebecca Stokell (22), Shauna Kavanagh (31), Orla Prendergast (28 in 22) could not convert their starts into anything substantial. At No. 8, Sophie MacMahon made 29 off 13 balls to help Ireland get past 250, but it was still not enough.
For Zimbabwe, Nkomo and Marange claimed two wickets each, while Nomvelo Sibanda, Esther Mbofana, and Loreen Tshuma had one to their names. The two sides next meet on 7 October, for the second ODI at the same venue.
Brief Scores: Ireland Women 253/8 in 50 overs (Laura Delany 86; Josephine Nkomo 2-46) lost to Zimbabwe Women 254/6 in 43.5 overs (Mary-Anne Musonda 103*; Cara Murray 2-47) by 4 wickets with 37 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Mary-Anne Musonda.