 The third and the final ODI of the series between Ireland and Zimbabwe
will be played on Thursday, September 30 at the same ground as the first two games
were played - Harare. Zimbabwe has already won the series by winning two close
games and lead it 2-0. However, the third game could still get interesting given
that Ireland has managed to run Zimbabwe run close and a turning of the corner
could just be around.
Click for Live Score Card of Zimbabwe Vs IrelandIn both the previous games, Zimbabwe has been lucky with the tosses.
This has meant that they have been able to insert the opposition into bat and
got away with the early morning moisture which is difficult to contend for the
batsmen. Even in the second ODI, much like in the first, the Irish side lost
a couple of early wickets, despite a rather quickfire start. 42 runs were added
off the first four overs and one felt that it was a T20 game in progress.
The stabilization came in their partnership for the third wicket as the side
got to 91/2 in the 18th over and despite the slowing down of the run-rate, the
good news was that the Irish side was always losing their wickets.
The middle-order collapse that saw Ireland lose four wickets for 16 and five
for 49 put the side in great jeopardy of being bowled out rather quickly. However,
Kevin O'Brien played a masterful knock of 73 to anchor the side back to a decent
238/9 in the 50 overs - a marked improvement over the 200 that they had scored
in the first ODI.
The Zimbabweans were always in hunt as they kept getting the runs despite losing
the wickets. Brendan Taylor got a 71, while Tatenda Taibu scored 41 before
a middle-order collapse saw the side crash to 192/7 in the 43rd over. 47 runs
were needed off 46 but with only three wickets remaining and things could have
gotten out of control when the side captain Elton Chigumbura - who had
played a good hand in the first ODI as well - added the required 47 runs with
Graeme Cremer and led the side to a win.
The Irish side will know that they will need to chase in order to have a better
chance. The reason for this is two-fold; their batsmen struggle against the
moving ball and they have the bowlers to exploit the conditions first up.
Zimbabwe will go in as favourites to make it 3-0.
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