HOBART: Zimbabwe marked their return to the big stage with a victory as Sikandar Raza and a combined display from the bowlers propelled them to outclass Ireland by 31 runs in the fourth match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.
The 175-run target set by Zimbabwe proved to be out of Ireland’s grasp as they fell 31 runs short of it; finishing at 143/9 in the allotted 20 overs.
Ireland had a deplorable start to their run chase as they lost four wickets at a paltry 22 in the fourth over.
Curtis Campher and George Dockrell then attempted to anchor the run chase and put on a crucial 44-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Zimbabwe’s hero with the bat Raza struck gold for his side in the 10th over as he castled Dockrell for 24.
Campher then joined hands with Gareth Delany and put on another vital partnership for his side as the duo added 27 runs before Sean Williams struck for Zimbabwe to remove the former in the 13th over.
The right-handed batter top-scored for his side with a gritty knock of 27 off 22 balls including a boundary.
Delany and Barry McCarthy then chipped in with 24 and 22 respectively but failed to guide their side to victory as Zimbabwe restricted Ireland to 143/9.
Blessing Muzarabani led the Zimbabwean bowling attack as he returned exceptional bowling figures of 3/23, while Richard Ngarava and Tendai Chatara bagged two wickets each.
Williams and Raza, on the other hand, struck out a batter each.
Batting first, Zimbabwe finished at the highest total so far in the ongoing mega event as they accumulated 174/7 in their quota of 20 overs, thanks to an astonishing knock from Raza.
The side had an unwanted start to their innings as they were 37/3 in the fifth over as the top-order returned back to the pavilion cheaply.
Following the slump, Raza stood up for his team and kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly while his side kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
The right-handed batter top-scored for the side with a brilliant knock of 82 off 48 deliveries, laced with five boundaries and as many sixes.
Lower-order batter Luke Jongwe also chipped in with a quickfire cameo and powered his side to a decent total. He remained unbeaten with 20 off 10 with the help of three boundaries.
Josh Little led the Irish bowling attack with brilliant figures of 3/24, while Mark Adair and Simi Sing bagged two wickets each.
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