Ireland’s top order crumbled as they kicked off their T20 World Cup campaign with a 31-run defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe made 174 for seven after being sent in at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval, a stiff total that proved beyond the boys in green as they finished on 143 for nine at the end of their innings.
Having needed a strong start to give themselves a chance, Ireland crashed to 22 for four and effectively drifted to rank outsiders before the end of the powerplay.
Josh Little had earlier continued his impressive year, taking three for 24, while there were two wickets apiece for Mark Adair and Simi Singh. But nobody could get to grips with player of the match Sikandar Raza, who hit five sixes and five fours in his decisive knock of 82.
The response lacked anything as substantial as that, with three scores of 20-plus but nothing more than Curtis Campher’s steady 27.
The evening began well for Ireland, who opted to bowl first and saw Little open their tournament tally with his second delivery as Regis Chakabva was caught behind. The left-armer, who proved a hit with Manchester Originals in The Hundred this summer, also removed Wessly Madhevere with the new ball.
Singh continued the good work by nipping out veteran duo Sean Williams and Craig Ervine to leave the score at 79 for four at the 10-over mark. Raza turned the equation in Zimbabwe’s favour as they piled on a further 95 runs in the second half of the innings, racing to his half-century in 26 balls.
Ireland mirrored their opponents in losing a wicket from their second ball, with big-hitting Paul Stirling cleaned up by Richard Ngarava, who picked off Lorcan Tucker in his next over. Captain Andy Balbirnie and Harry Tector both fell cheaply to Blessing Muzarabani, leaving too much for their team-mates to do.
Campher, George Dockrell (24) and Gareth Delany (24) made some inroads but the asking rate continued to climb and regular wickets stalled the momentum as the game played out to its inevitable conclusion.
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