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Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie feels his team is building confidence with each Test match, following their commanding 63-run victory over Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Monday, marking their third straight Test triumph.
Spinner Matthew Humphreys (6/57) did the majority of the damage on the final day, with the left-armer collecting three wickets in quick succession as Zimbabwe were all out for 228 in their pursuit of 292 for victory. It was Ireland's third Test win on the trot, with the European side having previously beaten Afghanistan in the UAE in February last year and Zimbabwe in Belfast in July as they continue to make further inroads as a Test-playing nation. Balbirnie was thrilled with the result and thinks his players are starting to grow in belief following three straight victories. "Back to Belfast (against Zimbabwe last July) when we were five down for not a lot chasing 158. Five down again here in the first innings for not a lot when Blessing (Muzarabani) was really troublesome. It shows a lot of character about our group," Balbirnie noted, as quoted from ICC. "We don't know when our next Test match is going to be so we've got to enjoy it while we can and make sure that we're smiling," he added. The two teams now head to Harare for six white-ball contests, with the first match of three ODI games coming at Harare Sports Club on Friday. Balbirnie is looking forward to the white-ball fixtures and is hoping the loyal Irish fans will continue their ongoing support throughout the series. "Harare is as good an atmosphere that I've played in, outside of playing India," he said, as quoted from ICC. "It's always nice to have travelling supporters. Cricket is not the biggest sport in our country. It's down the list but we're trying to make it as visible as possible and putting our team out there as well as we can," he said. (ANI)
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