Zimbabwe clinch thriller for consolation win

Despite having already lost the series, Zimbabwe managed to pull one back in a low-scoring thriller to end the five-match T20I series with two wins.

Bowlers call the shots

Unlike the previous T20I where Ireland dominated the PowerPlay, Zimbabwe put on a drastically improved show this time around. Paul Stirling began to open up in the chase of 124 with a six to welcome Luke Jongwe into the attack. But the bowler bounced back by getting the in-form Kevin O'Brien off the final ball with an offcutter. Donald Tiripano then had a comeback of his own after a horror outing in the previous game to get Andrew Balbirnie nicking behind in the next over.

Stirling continued on the attack and picked back-to-back boundaries off Jongwe only for the bowler to come back with a slower one to have him caught at cover. Harry Tector gave Zimbabwe more joy in the next over, chasing a wide one and nicking to slip as Ireland slipped to 30-4 inside the PowerPlay.

Couldn't Ireland still fight back?

The hosts weren't out of the game despite that early blip because the asking rate was never beyond them. Neil Rock and Shane Getkate put on a brisk 36-run stand in the middle overs to raise Ireland's hopes once again. However the partnership was nipped in the bud by an arm ball from Wellington Masakadza that got the better of Getkate in the 13th over of the chase.

Was there no way out from that?

With Getkate's departure, the onus rested on the well set Rock to carry them through. However, Zimbabwe's star with the ball - Jongwe - came back to put what seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. He had Rock caught at the boundary off a slower bouncer and put paid to their hopes of a big comeback.

Why did it still go till the final over?

First Andy McBrine and Mark Adair batted sensibly to stitch together a mini stand of 13 that took Ireland closer to the target. But with the asking rate finally going up, McBrine chanced his arm against Tiripano but was done in by a slower ball. Jongwe, in his final over, produced another magical turn when he caught Adair backing up too far and had the wit to underarm the ball back to the stumps when defended by the batsman. However Craig Young provided another twist to the tail by taking 10 off the last three balls bowled by Jongwe, which included a muscled six over long on.

What happened in the final over?

With nine to defend in the final over, Richard Ngarava got his slower balls and yorker right on target. He managed to keep Joshua Little on strike for four of these deliveries and when Young finally managed to get on strike. But Nagaava made sure that Young couldn't get under his yorkers in the final stages and gave Zimbabwe a narrow 5-run win.

Why could Zimbabwe manage just 124?

On a track that was offering enough for the seamers, Zimbabwe were put on the backfoot early by Mark Adair once again as he bagged Tinashe Kamunhukwame and Regis Chakabva for ducks in back-to-back balls. Little then came into the match having Madhevere caught to reduce Zimbabwe to 30-3. However skipper Craig Ervine, with an unbeaten 67, stitched together useful stands with Dion Myers (26) and Milton Shumba (15*) to take Zimbabwe to a competitive total.

Brief Scores:Zimbabwe 124/4 (Craig Ervine 67; Mark Adair 3-23) beat Ireland 119 all out (Luke Jongwe 3-29, Donald Tiripano 3-31) by 5 runs