29/08Result
2nd T20I, Zimbabwe tour of Ireland and Scotland at Dublin, Aug 29 2021
Ireland won by 7 wkts (9b rem)
Player of the Match
Kevin O'Brien
Kevin O'BrienIreland
29/08Result
2nd T20I, Zimbabwe tour of Ireland and Scotland at Dublin, Aug 29 2021
Ireland won by 7 wkts (9b rem)
Player of the Match
Kevin O'Brien
Kevin O'BrienIreland

That's all from our side. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. See you soon.

Andy Balbirnie: I said at the start what a good score was. To chase it down with three down was a good feeling. Really happy for Kevin, he works as hard as anyone in the nets. In the last game, early wickets had put us on the back foot. A couple of lean games and people were asking for Kevin's head. We know how good Simmi is, he has been our standout player this year.

Craig Ervine: We were happy the way we finished our innings. Shumba and Burl gave us the momentum going into the second innings. You always want to start off the innings well, in the powerplay, so that's a bit of concern. We have got the youngsters who can throw themselves around in the field. Today, Kevin batted well and everyone just batted around him.

Kevin O'Brien is the Player of the Match. "It's always good to score runs but after coming off 0, 0 and 2 in the last three games, it was good to spend time in the middle," he says. "I am at that stage of the career where I know how to score runs. It was good to score runs and keep people quite for a while."

So the series stands at 1-1 with three games to go. We will have the presentation soon, stay tuned.

3.15pm A victory with nine balls to spare, no miracle this time for Zimbabwe as Dockrell finishes it off in a jiffy. Paul Sterling laid the foundation and once he departed Kevin O'Brien took over, smashing 60 off 41 balls. By the time he was dismissed, Ireland needed only 24 from 26 balls. Dockrell and Tector ensured there were no hiccups.

Dharshanaj: "Oh no.. Ngarava... you are my last over bowler... "

18.3
4
Ngarava to Dockrell, FOUR, and that's it. Three fours in three balls to seal the win. Not a great shot but Ireland won't mind that. A length ball around off, Dockrell swings at it, gets a top edge over short third man for another boundary
18.2
4
Ngarava to Dockrell, FOUR, fuller and wider outside off and almost an action replay of the last ball. Another hit over covers. This time way too high for the fielder to even try getting a hand
18.1
4
Ngarava to Dockrell, FOUR, fuller outside off and smashed over covers after taking his front leg out. The fielder at extra cover had no chance

12 required from 12. Ngarava to bowl

END OF OVER:
18 | 5 Runs | IRE: 141/3 (12 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.83, RRR: 6.00)

  • George Dockrell21 (23b)
  • Harry Tector5 (6b)
  • Luke Jongwe3-0-26-0
  • Richard Ngarava3-0-22-0
17.6
1
Jongwe to Dockrell, 1 run, fuller outside off, drills it towards deep extra cover
17.5
2
Jongwe to Dockrell, 2 runs, brilliant effort at deep midwicket. Fuller on the stumps, and clipped over by Dockrell. It was going away from the fielder who dived this his left to stop the boundary

Dharshanaj: "Ngarava will defend anything above 05 in the last over.. hope so.. Sri Lankan fan supporting Zimbabwe.."

17.4
1
Jongwe to Tector, 1 run, fuller around off, smashed but straight towards mid-off
17.3
0
Jongwe to Tector, no run, a bouncer from Jongwe, outside off. Tector comes down the ground and goes for the pull. An appeal for caught-behind but there was no bat involved

That was O'Brien's first T20I fifty since October 2019, in 20 games, Firdose tells me

17.2
1
Jongwe to Dockrell, 1 run, down the track and swipes at it. Didn't middle it. A single to wide long-on
17.1
0
Jongwe to Dockrell, no run, length ball around off, pushes uppishly towards short midwicket

17 needed from 18. Jongwe to bowl out

END OF OVER:
17 | 5 Runs | IRE: 136/3 (17 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 8.00, RRR: 5.66)

  • George Dockrell17 (19b)
  • Harry Tector4 (4b)
  • Richard Ngarava3-0-22-0
  • Tendai Chatara3-0-20-1
16.6
1
Ngarava to Dockrell, 1 run, fuller outside off, pushes it towards cover-point and sets off
16.5
1
Ngarava to Tector, 1 run, length outside off, slashes it towards extra cover
16.4
0
Ngarava to Tector, no run, comes down the wicket but Ngarava slips in a bouncer. Ducked under in the end
16.3
2
Ngarava to Tector, 2 runs, length ball around off, punched towards deep-backward point where the fielder fumbles and allows the second run
16.2
1
Ngarava to Dockrell, 1 run, short of length around off, hops and taps it down towards third man
16.1
0
Ngarava to Dockrell, no run, length ball angling across, beats the batter on the cut

Jezza : "Effective Irish bowling in Zimbabwe's first 10 overs has won the match for them. Since then batsmen have dominated but it's the bowlers who put Ireland on top. Fine match to showcase these two teams. "

Ngarava now, can he conjure something here?

END OF OVER:
16 | 5 Runs 1 Wkt | IRE: 131/3 (22 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 8.18, RRR: 5.50)

  • George Dockrell15 (16b)
  • Harry Tector1 (1b)
  • Tendai Chatara3-0-20-1
  • Ryan Burl4-0-24-2
15.6
1
Chatara to Dockrell, 1 run, length ball outside off, punched towards sweeper cover

Ireland 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st59KJ O'BrienPR Stirling
2nd18KJ O'BrienA Balbirnie
3rd52KJ O'BrienGH Dockrell
4th24GH DockrellHT Tector