Zimbabwe take on Ireland and prove their domination on the field

Sikandar Raza scored a brilliant 82 [Source: Twitter]

The contest between Ireland and Zimbabwe was jam packed with thrilling events, great batting display and fielding efforts. 

Ireland won the toss and chose to bowl and Zimbabwe took the crease. 

Raza heroics gives Zimbabwe a defendable total 

The batting lineup got off to a rocky start as both the Zimbabwean openers went back to the dugout with single digits. Coming in at number 3, Wesley Madhevere played the foundational innings while scoring 22(19). Sean Williams 12(11) tried to support him from the other end. 

The most talked about batting performance of the match was Sikandar Raza as the star batter played the saviour. Raza scored a brilliant 82 off of 48 balls at a blistering strike rate 170.83. Thanks to Raza and a late feature from Luke Jongwe (20), Zimbabwe managed to put up a total of 174 in 20 overs at the loss of 7 wickets. 

For Ireland Joshua Little and Mark Adair made their mark with the ball as they scalped 3 and 2 wickets respectively. 

Ireland crumble under pressure 

Ireland had a similar start on the crease as the openers crumbled within single digits. Curtis Campher scored a well needed 27 (22) as he came in at number 5. Succeeding him George Dockrell and Gareth Delany both scored 24 off of 20 balls. 

After Delany's departure from the crease the Irish batters failed to score any worthwhile runs as the lineup kept crumbling. Richard Ngarava, Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani all played a strong hand at Ireland's short lived stint at the crease. They scalped 2, 2 and 3 wickets respectively. Barry McCarthy tried to revive the chase as he scored 22 off of 16 balls but all his efforts went in vain as Zimbabwe drove the match to victory. 

Brief Scores

Zimbabwe 174-7 (20)

Wesley Madhevere 22 (19), Sikandar Raza 82 (48), Luke Jongwe 20 (10)

Joshua Little 3-24-4, Mark Adair 2-39-4

Ireland 

Curtis Campher 27 (22), George Dockrell 24 (20), Gareth Delany 24 (20)

Richard Ngarava 2-22-4, Tendai Chatara 2-22-4, Blessing Muzarabani 3-23-4.

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