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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter

CLIVE Madande struck a match-winning boundary as Zimbabwe overcame a host of setbacks and edged Ireland by three wickets with the final ball of this tightly contested One Day International cricket match, that was decided by the Duckworth-Lewis and Stern method following rain interruptions, at Harare Sports Club yesterday.

The wicketkeeper/batsman settled matters between the close rivals in a dramatic final over after the game had been reduced to 37 overs.

Ireland had looked on course to a massive win after they dominated the home team earlier on with a massive 228/4 in their 50 overs.

This was their highest ODI score against Zimbabwe in ODI cricket, thanks to well-struck centuries from skipper Andrew Balbirnie (121) and Harry Tector (101*).

But then the rain, which had caused a brief stoppage when Ireland were batting in the morning, returned much heavier late in the afternoon, causing the match to be reduced to 37 overs.

Zimbabwe were given a new target of 214 runs to win the game. The revised target meant the home team needed 39 runs from 22 deliveries and the run rate had ballooned from just under seven-an-over, when the game was stopped, to over 10-an-over at the resumption.

The umpires had been forced to stop after a light drizzle got heavier in the middle of the 34th over. With 175/4 on the board, Zimbabwe were two runs short of the DLS score.

They had wanted to hurry things up as the rain was circling over Harare Sports Club, in case they would not be able to come back.

But the rain eventually went away and the ground staff tried their best and made it possible for the home team to get back on the park.

Ryan Burl, who was named Man of the Match for his unbeaten 59 runs from 41 deliveries, had found an able partner in Sikandar Raza (43) as they looked to dig the Chevrons out of a sticky situation.

But then Zimbabwe suddenly found the pressure on resumption as they needed to score even faster on a wet outfield.

They immediately lost Raza after the left hander had faced just two balls on resumption. Raza could not get enough distance as he tried to clear the deep mid-wicket boundary where Curtis Campher took a neat catch, to end a 76-run partnership that consumed only 69 balls.

Burl continued with Madande on the other end as Zimbabwe hung on. But, with 13 runs required in the final over, the left hander, who hit two maximums and four boundaries, was run out while attempting a tight second.

New batsman Brad Evans kept Zimbabwe’s hopes alive with a six from the first ball he faced. Now the game was on the wire as Zimbabwe needed five runs from three balls.

Evans however was trapped lbw the next ball and the momentum was back with the Irish, as number nine batsman Wellington Masakadza came in.

Masakadzea did well to get Madande back on the strike, as Zimbabwe needed four runs from the last ball of the game. Madande responded well as he hit a match-defining boundary for his cameo of 12 runs from nine balls. Zimbabwe ended on 214/7.

“It seems like every time that we play Ireland, it’s a close game. I thought the wicket was a little bit sticky earlier on and Balbirnie and Tector batted extremely well,” said Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine.

The centuries by Tector and Balbirnie had set up the game for Ireland after Zimbabwe had won the toss and put them into bat first.

Zimbabwe claimed an early breakthrough with two wickets for just 25 runs. Debutant Stephen Doheny (3) was bowled by Victor Nyauchi in the second over, with just four runs on the board for the Irish team.

They were two wickets down after 8.4 overs, when Paul Stirling, who had returned to the ODI squad after playing in the International League T20 in UAE, was adjudged lbw off the bowling of Richard Ngarava.

But the Zimbabwean bowlers failed to maintain the momentum. Ireland seized control with a record third wicket partnership of 212 between Balbirnie and Tector.

However, Balbirnie, who was earlier dropped by Nyauchi while he was still on 27 runs, retired hurt after he was hit on the helmet by a ball. The Ireland skipper top-edged a full toss from Brad Evans and the ball unfortunately ricocheted to his helmet. Balbirnie, however, had caused the damage already.

Veteran batter Stirling said the Irish were disappointed to lose the match so close.

“A bit of Deja vu, we have always had good games here, the crowd got their money’s worth. It is tough in the morning, initially you want to settle in and get to a good start and we managed to do that. I think it’s much more difficult for batters to come back after a rain break. Credit to the Zimbabwe batters as they played well.