Zimbabwe’s chances of winning the special Test in Belfast were dashed by Ireland thanks to a stunning turnaround orchestrated by Lorcan Tucker and Andy McBrine. After Richard Ngarava’s new ball burst shocked Ireland in the difficult 158 chase, Zimbabwe was favourites to win by stumps on day three. With only five wickets remaining, the home team was in dire need of another 125 runs at 33/5. But Ireland’s second Test victory in history was made possible by Tucker and McBrine’s 96-run partnership, which put the visitors at bay.
In the opening over of the day, Tucker hit a boundary, and Ireland got off to a flying start when McBrine hit one off the bowl of Ngarava towards deep midwicket.
The two batsmen then launched themselves into a boundary-hitting frenzy, punishing both Muzarabani and Ngarava and compelling Zimbabwe to switch bowlers.
Nevertheless, runs kept coming as Sean Williams’s introduction of spin had no impact either. Tucker ran down the track to lash Tendai Chatara over midwicket thanks to the Irish duo’s aggressive approach, and in the next over, he reached his half-century off just 56 balls. When Tucker pulled one from Muzarabani to be bowled for 56 with 41 runs remaining, Zimbabwe had a ray of hope once more.
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To calm Ireland’s fears, Mark Adair remained unwavering and successfully hit a couple of boundaries. After a while, McBrine reached his fifty as Zimbabwe’s hopes were dashed for the second time that day. Adair scored his fourth boundary of the chase to end the game, and McBrine was still unbeaten at the other end.
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