Hair-raising T20 fixture on the cards

AFTER a dramatic victory in the second T20I against Ireland on Sunday at Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe will look to seal the series when the two teams meet again for the decider this evening at the same venue.

A win for the Chevrons in the third and final match will give them a 2-0 series victory, following the abandonment of the opener on Saturday due to rain. With everything to play for, the match promises to be an exhilarating contest.

On the other hand, Ireland will be hoping to end their tour of Zimbabwe on a high with a win that will ensure they share the spoils.
The visitors won the one-off Test series 1-0, before Zimbabwe bounced back to take the One Day International (ODI) series 2-1.

Zimbabwe won Sunday’s thrilling match by three wickets, courtesy of an unbeaten 43 runs from Tony Munyonga. Munyonga, who is enjoying a rich vein of form in domestic cricket and is the second-leading run-scorer, was named Player of the Match for his heroics in his return to international cricket.

“We sort of liked to put ourselves in a position where we just needed to keep batting and get the team over the line. Obviously, that’s the end goal, but enjoying the moment in the process was important. I think that was the most important thing we talked about. I think it goes a long way.

“Having come off scoring runs in the domestic league, getting that confidence back again, it’s not easy. The guys know what they’re doing, and sometimes it’s because I’m not scoring many runs. But coming off scoring runs and being able to take that confidence into international cricket has really helped me a lot.

Playing a lot of cricket, including about eight years of First-Class cricket, has helped me a lot. I’ve faced many situations like that, so I just kept reminding myself to keep my head down and keep digging,” said Munyonga.

Heading into the series decider, Zimbabwe will hope their top order finds its rhythm as they had a tough time in the two games played so far.

The opening pair of Brian Bennett and Tadiwanshe Marumani have struggled with the bat, making just eight and one run, respectively, in both games.

Sikandar Raza, who batted at number three on Saturday, was dismissed for a golden duck. On Sunday, he dropped to fourth, with Wessly Madhevere coming in at number three. Madhevere managed just one run after scoring an unbeaten 11 in the opening match.

Today’s high-stakes game, where everything is on the line for both teams, is scheduled to be played under floodlights.
The match is set to begin at 18.30. – @brandon_malvin.