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Harry Tector and George Dockrell's unbeaten stand clinched the third T20I match as well as the series for Ireland against Zimbabwe on Sunday.
Ireland fabricated a commanding performance both with the bat and the ball as they continue to prepare for the 2024 T20 World Cup against a side that missed out on one. With the series level on 1-1, Ireland put Zimbabwe to bat and made most of their decision as they restricted the hosts to 140/6 at the Harare Sports Club. In reply, the Irish team got off to a rocky start as they lost four key wickets inside seven overs. Richard Ngarava, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani and Brandon Mavuta scalped one each to make the chase of 141 a tricky affair for Ireland. Tector who has been tipped to become one of Ireland's great stitched up an unbeaten 104-run stand with Dockrell to clinch the series for the visitors. Dockrell was more expressive out of the two with his 49* off 32 balls. He scored at a strike rate of 153 and struck three boundaries and the same number of maximums. When his partner struggled he swung the momentum in their favour by ensuring the runs continued to flow at a consistent rate. Tector who struggled to time the ball early in the innings held onto his wicket, picked up his moments and scored three fours and two sixes. Tector found his groove with each passing delivery and completed his half-century with a late cut. The duo secured the victory with eight balls to spare and clinched a six-wicket victory. Earlier in the innings, pacers Joshua Little, Craig Young and spinner Gareth Delany picked up two wickets each to make Zimbabwe batters toil hard to reach a competitive score. Zimbabwe were in a strong position to walk away with the series after they took away the first game with a nail-biting victory. Ireland bounced back to win two consecutive games and take away the three-match T20I series. With this win, Ireland have further bolstered their hopes of a good outing in the T20 World Cup. (ANI)
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