2024-07-28 02:25:31
There are still about 20 overs left for the third day’s play. The game was first stopped due to rain. Later light. The only test between Ireland and Zimbabwe was played on the fourth day. The question is whether the match would have been played on the fourth day if not for the hostility of nature.
Because the match is now extremely exciting. Zimbabwe want to win this Test by 5 wickets. Ireland are 125 runs away. See who gets the last laugh in red ball cricket in Belfast. The bowlers are controlling the match scoreboard so far.
After the first innings, Zimbabwe’s second innings also went badly. After 210 runs, the visitors’ innings stopped at 197 runs. They started the second innings trailing by 40 runs. But in shaky batting, Craig Irvine and Shaun Williams couldn’t even reach two hundred. Dion Myers scored the highest 57 runs for the team. Besides, 40 runs came from the bat of Williams. Joylord Gumbe scored 24 runs. None of the rest could even cross twenty houses. Zimbabwe completed the sixteenth period of failure by losing the last 5 wickets for 46 runs.
Best for the Irish with the ball was Andy McBrien. He took 4 wickets for 38 runs. Young and Adair got 2 wickets each.
Ireland got a target of 158 runs at home. It seemed that they would easily chase the run. But the hosts lost 5 wickets after scoring 21 runs off Zimbabwean left-arm pacer Richard Ngavara. Three of the opening 4 batsmen could not open the account of runs. Captain Andy Balbiron was dismissed for 4 runs. Besides, Paul Starling returned to the dressing room with 10 runs.
Ngavara got 4 wickets and Mujarabani got 1 wicket. The two pacers messed up Ireland’s batting order by showing great efficiency with the new ball. If the same sequence continues on the fourth day, the match will go in favor of Zimbabwe. Ireland will have to do something great to win.