Watch cricket video highlights of Ireland Tour of Zimbabwe 2025. First ODI between Ireland and Zimbabwe. Venue of the match will be Harare.
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Brian Bennett’s outstanding 169 to set up Zimbabwe’s 49-run victory against Ireland in the first ODI on Friday was a Valentine’s Day present to all the cricket fans at Harare Sports Club. Bennett, who was elevated to opener for the first time in ODI cricket, hit 56.52% of Zimbabwe’s total, setting up Ireland to chase a goal of 300. In the process, he recorded the fifth-highest ODI score by a Zimbabwean batsman and became the fourth-youngest to reach 150+ in a men’s ODI.
On a placid surface, however, the objective was quite attainable, and Ireland engaged in a close battle throughout the majority of the pursuit. However, they collapsed for 250 after running out of wickets, including four dismissals in their final ten deliveries of the innings. After sharing seven wickets between Richard Ngarava (3 for 56) and Blessing Muzarabani (4 for 51), Zimbabwe ended their four-match losing streak and took a 1-0 lead.
Ireland captain Paul Stirling made the sensible decision to bowl first because of the 9.30am start time, the rain, and Harare’s history of favoring chasing teams. However, Josh Little, a bowler with a left-arm swing, had a difficult time making his comeback to the ODI squad after giving up 35 runs in his opening three overs. Ben Curran cut another couple, but Bennett was the main aggressor, hitting him for six fours in his opening three overs. With an economy of 8.33 and a final score of 1 for 75 in nine overs, he would give up a total of 11 fours and five wides.
The Zimbabwean opening duo was able to flourish because to their productive start and the Ireland new-ball bowlers’ lack of creativity. Before offspinner Andy McBrine (1 for 53) broke the partnership, they put up 95 for the first wicket. However, there was no break as Bennett and the third-best Craig Ervine then put on 136 in 134 balls in a well built second-wicket stand. With some spin in the pitch, they were cautious throughout the middle overs, and it looked like Matthew Humphreys and McBrine were strangling one other.
Ervine was more daring by stepping over and attempting to locate empty pockets over fine leg, whilst Bennett, with his 20 fours and three sixes, took an inclination for point, extra cover, deep midwicket, and deep square leg. Bennett also experimented with the Ireland bowlers, exploiting the breadth of his crease to generate boundary-scoring opportunities as the crowd rose and Zimbabwe’s run-rate increased.
Ervine went against the flow of play to medium-pacer Graham Hume in the 41st over, but a large target was still very much on after the pair took advantage of three dropped catches and one missed stumping to reach Zimbabwe’s 200 in the 38th over. However, Wessly Madhevere and Sikandar Raza were unable to maintain the momentum, and Bennett was the only one to make significant shots in the last ten. Bennett struggled to locate a big shot in the last over after 216 minutes of batting, but his effort made sure Zimbabwe ended at 299 for 5.
After the game, Bennett remarked, “I was pushing them to get up [to open], and happy to get that opportunity.” “All I wanted to do was watch and whack the ball. It’s encouraging, and I want to repeat it on Sunday. As one of the top four set hitters, I wanted to go deep.” Although Andrew Balbirnie was caught behind off Ngarava in the opening delivery, the remainder of Ireland’s batting lineup showed enough promise to make the chase possible, but they lost their wicket when it looked like the tide was turning.
Curtis Campher edged a wide ball from Raza to the keeper on 44, Harry Tector scooped Madhevere to fine leg on 39, Lorcan Tucker inside-edged Muzarabani onto his stumps on 31 and Stirling was tricked by a Muzarabani short ball to fall for 32. Ireland’s chase seemed to have lost its spark at 169 for 6 in 35.2 overs, but a 73-run eighth-wicket partnership between George Dockrell (34) and McBrine (36) in 9.1 overs injected energy into the match and began to unnerve the home audience.
Ngarava tied up the tail in the 46th over to bring a low-key conclusion to an intense match, but Ervine resorted to Muzarabani for the 45th over, and he dismissed both set hitters in four balls. “We gave Bennett a chance or two and he made us pay,” Stirling remarked following the loss. “We shouldn’t have been in the field because we were rusty. I thought there was a 50-run gap between the two teams, and the outcome supports that. We were in the hunt at 30 overs, and there was a target of 300 that could be chased. However, we got lost. We expect to do well with the bat in the upcoming game, as we bat quite deep.”
