- "It looks like a good wicket. There is a little bit of grass but that will only hold the wicket together. It is important for the bowlers to start well. The batters need to treat this as a Test match and be watchful in the first 10 overs. There is a nice breeze blowing across the ground. One boundary is bigger than the other."
VENUE STATS
1st Innings
234Avg Runs
8Avg Wkts
81.32Avg
SR
2nd Innings
198Avg Runs
7Avg Wkts
79.79Avg
SR
Weather Update
Weather Update
Harare,Zimbabwe
Updated: 18 Feb 20:30
23.4°CClouds
scattered clouds
100%
Clouds
60%
Rain %
72%
Humidity
6.1 kmph
Wind
Playing XILineups Out
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Expert Team 1
C Campher
M Adair
Expert Team 2
S Raza
B Bennet
Venue Details
Harare Sports Club
- "It looks like a good wicket. There is a little bit of grass but that will only hold the wicket together. It is important for the bowlers to start well. The batters need to treat this as a Test match and be watchful in the first 10 overs. There is a nice breeze blowing across the ground. One boundary is bigger than the other."
The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
Right - that's all we have for you from the ODI leg of Ireland's 2025 tour of Zimbabwe. The honours are even going into the 3-match T20I series - Ireland clinched the one-off Test match, and Zimbabwe have just registered their first ODI series win in almost two years. The three-match T20I series begins in four days' time at Harare. Join us right here on Sportskeeda for our coverage of that, and keep a close eye on our page for a whole lot more! This is Rajarshi Das, signing off on behalf of Bidipto Datta. See you later!
Craig Ervine, Zimbabwe captain: Everybody's ecstatic. A lot of credit to the guys, they've put in a lot of hard work. Not only the last week but the last two months. Winning the toss was key today. Got to utilize those early morning conditions, Blessing and Richie (Ngarava) did exceptionally well there. When you get that initial platform at the top, it allows guys at the middle like me and Raza to come in and bat freely. Exciting to see the consistency this series, lot of credit to Ben and Brian, they've worked extremely hard to stick to the processes. Nice to see them being rewarded. We've spoken a lot at length on once you're in, make it count. Benny's hundred in the first game, getting a good start today, nice to see them turn those starts into good scores. The composure from the guys coming in today, knowing the past records. The composure and calmness throughout today was outstanding from our boys.
Paul Stirling, Ireland captain: We were pretty happy at the halfway, could have gotten 20-30 extra runs. 320 wouldn't have been enough though for the second innings. You try and cash in at the back end, we never really got past the 7 runs an over. Fair play to Zimbabwe, they deserved that really well. They (Zimbabwe new-ball bowlers) were excellent. Particularly for us two batters at the top they always come good. It's been a good series, fair result today. Plenty of time for sightseeing after the series, couple of days' rest, squad with new faces, we will look forward to a challenging T20I series.
Brian Bennett has been adjudged as the Player of the Series! Here is what he has to say: It's nice to be here! I'm just doing my best and helping the team win. I like batting up at the top with the new ball, the fielding restrictions makes it easier. The more balls you face, the better your batting gets. Looking forward to the T20I series now.
Ben Curran (Player of the Match, 118* off 130 balls): To perform in a winning cause like this is just brilliant! In the first two games, I didn't face that many balls in the power play. But today, a few hit the gaps and I got going. The surfaces were pretty similar, but it was easier to bat on today in the afternoon. Really proud to be here representing Zimbabwe!
5:06 pm local time (8:36 pm IST): It is now time for the post-match presentation!
4:53 P.M. Local Time, 8:23 P.M. IST - Match summary:
Zimbabwe win by 9 wickets with 63 balls to spare
Ben Curran 118*(130) | Richard Ngarava 2/42 (10) Andrew Balbirnie 64 (99) | Graham Hume 1/39 (8)
The Zimbabwe openers were up and at it right from the word go. Ben Curran and Brian Bennett went on the attack, running aggressively between the wickets, and the frequency of boundaries increased as the powerplay progressed. Curran was, by far, the more aggressive of the two, playing some truly attractive shots. The middle-child among the three Curran brothers notched up a half century within the first ten with ten boundaries in total.
Zimbabwe went on to register their best powerplay score in ODIs - 77. The duo kept at it even after the powerplay, proceeding to register a 100-run stand for the first wicket. There was a bit of delay owing to some inclement weather, the opening duo looked to continue in the same rhythm after the break, but Ireland had the opening breakthrough soon after as Graham Hume trapped Bennett in front with a nip-backer.
Craig Ervine came in, took a bit of time to settle in, and then picked his deliveries to attack. Paul Stirling brought Andy McBrine back on with two left-handers in, a move that backfired badly as Ervine fancied his chances more often against the offie. Ben Curran shifted to a second-fiddle role as Craig Ervine went on the charge in the middle overs, killing the game off to a large extent by the end of the 30th over.
The milestones kept coming along - Ervine registered a half-century of his own, and after a brief period of nerviness, Ben Curran went on to become the first in his family to reach three figures in national colours. Both batters went on the charge after reaching their personal milestones, and Zimbabwe were home and dry soon after, much to the delight of the crowd at Harare. Presentations coming up shortly...
39.3 George Dockrell to Craig Ervine, ERVINE FINISHES IT OFF IN STYLE! ZIMBABWE WIN AT A CANTER! Full on off-stump. Ervine prods forward and clubs it high and handsome over the bowler!
39.2 George Dockrell to Craig Ervine, full around off-stump. Stroked to the man at extra cover on the front foot for no run.
39.1 George Dockrell to Craig Ervine, back of a length around off. Chopped off the backfoot almost on to the stumps! No run.
39.1 George Dockrell to Craig Ervine, FIVE WIDES! Full and flat down the leg-side. This beats everyone and everything down to fine-leg! Scores are level.
Bit of a stutter with that second run, but Curran makes it at the striker's end - the throw came in at the wrong end. The way things are going, the following over might turn out to be the last in this ODI series.
39
overs
235/1score
1
2
4
0
4
2
runs
Ben Curran*
118(130)
Craig Ervine
63(56)
Harry Tector
0/31
38.6 Andy McBrine to Ben Curran, short around off-stump. Chopped to the man at cover point off the back foot, who misfields, and the batters take a couple of runs!
38.5 Andy McBrine to Ben Curran, FOUR RUNS! Dragged down on off-stump. Pulled away to deep square-leg off the back foot for an easy boundary now!
38.4 Andy McBrine to Ben Curran, length ball on middle-stump. Knocked back to the bowler from the crease for no run.
38.3 Andy McBrine to Ben Curran, SIX RUNS! Tossed up on leg-and-middle. Curran lines it up and whacks it over long-on off the front foot for a maximum!
38.2 Andy McBrine to Ben Curran, good length off-break around off. Curran steps out and goes through with the shot through the line. It goes over the right of mid-off for a couple of runs.
38.1 Andy McBrine to Craig Ervine, full around off-stump. Stroked off the front foot over the in-field down to long-off for a single. This was more off the thick inside half of the bat.
A decent first over from Dockrell - it's been quite a while since we saw him with the ball.
Video
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C Campher
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Ben Curran
*
Harry Tector
Harare Sports Club
