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©INPHO/Prashant Bhoot
Comeback

Ireland snatch final-over victory over Zimbabwe in Nagpur

A gutsy mid-order showing gave Ireland victory over Zimbabwe in this morning’s final World Cup warm-up match.

KEVIN O’BRIEN and Andre Botha teamed up for a mid-order partnership of 99 runs this morning as Ireland pulled off an impressive comeback against Zimbabwe in their final World Cup warm-up fixture.

Ireland got off to a cracking start when Boyd Rankin took two wickets in quick succession early on, leaving Zimbabwe struggling on 7-2 after the opening four overs.

Trent Johnston quickly added to the Zimbabwean woes when his ball to Sean Williams was caught by Gary Wilson to bring up a total of just 12-3 after 7 overs.

Despite having been held to just 74-4 as they approached the middle of their innings, the Zimbabwean batsman found their form eventually,  24-year-old captain Elton Chigumbura leading the way as he posted a total of 103 not out.

For a long period, it looked as though Zimbabwe’s total of 244-8 would be enough to give them victory, particularly when Irish opener Paul Stirling was dismissed for a duck after just four balls of his side’s innings.

Though Niall O’Brien and Alex Cusack managed to steady the ship somewhat, it looked as though Ireland would fall far short of their target, struggling to a dismal 87-3 when Cusack was dismissed in the 22nd over.

However, it was the mid-order partnership of Botha and O’Brien which launched the Irish challenge, with the pair hitting a combined 11 4s and two 6s during their respective times at bat.

By the time Botha was dismissed with just 19 balls remaining, Ireland had stormed back to 226-5, needing just one run per ball to seal a remarkable comeback.

Despite losing Botha’s replacement Gary Wilson when needing six runs from seven balls, Ireland battled on, John Mooney hitting a four on the penultimate ball before picking up the single which Ireland needed to give them a four-wicket victory with a total 245-6 (49.3 overs).

The resilient manner of victory will hopefully give Ireland renewed confidence ahead of their opening World Cup match against Bangladesh on Friday 25th February.

Ireland will then take on England (2 March), India (6 March), West Indies (11 March), South Africa (15 March) and The Netherlands (18 March) in the remainder of their Group A fixtures.