Ireland 294 for 7 (Doheny 84, Tector 75, Chatra 3-51, Evans 2-66) Zimbabwe 248 (Balance 52, Kaia 51, Burl 41, Little 4-38) by 46 runs
Ireland were asked to bat first, and began their innings with a century partnership between openers Paul Stirling and Doheny. This set the tone for a gritty batting performance. Tector went in the 27th over, and even though Doheny fell soon after, he hit seven fours and a six in his 61-ball innings at a strike rate of 122.95. Tendai Chatra’s three wickets in the slog overs ensured Ireland did not have the momentum to go past 300, ending at 294 for 7 in 50 overs.
Left-arm swing bowler Little struck early in the chase, removing Tadivanashe Marumani for a duck, but an 89-run partnership for the second wicket between Kaiya and Chibhabha revived the hosts’ innings. However, both fell in 19 balls to allow Ireland to begin their comeback. After this, Mark Adair got Sikandar Raza out for 25 and troubled the hosts more.
But Burl and Ballance looked to take Zimbabwe over the line with a half-century partnership for the fifth wicket. However, the stand ended on 67 when it looked like the balance of play would tilt in favor of the hosts. Burl was run out in the 41st over, after which Little struck twice more and took 4 for 38.
Even though Balance brought up his maiden ODI half-century for Zimbabwe – which included only two fours – the loss of wickets at the other end meant that it was too much for him. The balance fell on 52 in the 47th over, Graham Hume’s second scalp on the day, and with only 10 and 11 left, an equation of 53 from 21 balls was almost impossible. Eventually, the visitors closed out the game in a winner-take-all contest to take the series to its final day on Monday.
