Ireland became the first team in history to register three consecutive wins within the first 10 Tests they played as what they say about London buses… Andy Balbirnie and Co had to wait for their first Test win for eight matches and now they have won three in a row as they came from behind to clinch the one-off clash against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo riding on the spin twins Andy McBrine and Matthew Humphreys’ show with both bat and ball. Zimbabwe now haven’t won a Test match at home since 2013 as the winless streak now is in its 12th year.
Zimbabwe had eked out a narrow seven-run lead in the first innings on the back of a Blessing Muzarabani special with both bat and ball as the tall pacer registered the best figures by a pacer from his country in Tests. It felt like Zimbabwe were on to something special before all of it came downhill in both departments, the second time around.
Ireland’s fightback began when they were gasping for breath at 82/6. They could have been bowled out for 150 there and veteran McBrine came to the rescue for his side as he more often does. McBrine stitched crucial partnerships with the likes of Mark Adair, Craig Young and Humphreys to push Ireland’s score beyond 250.
In the second innings, the main batters, skipper Balbirnie and wicketkeeper-batter Lorcan Tucker struck fifties and helped Ireland set a challenging target of 292 runs to win for Zimbabwe. Ireland bowlers were all over Zimbabwe like a rash, at least for the first part of the innings with the hosts losing three wickets pretty cheaply.
Wessly Madhevere was his defiant self with a gritty 84. Brian Bennett and debutant skipper Jonathan Campbell played around him but one of them needed to go big and convert it into a big hundred as Zimbabwe fell short by 63 runs. Left-arm spinner Humphreys ended with figures of 6/57, the best for Ireland in Test cricket thus far.
The two teams will now be up against each other in three-match ODI series, set to kick off on Friday, February 14 in Harare.
