This 71-over day could not have packed in more activity. In the end, Zimbabwe won thanks to 15 wickets, six misplayed catches, Tanaka Chivanga’s temporary injury retirement, and Richard Ngarava’s explosive four-over session. In this one-off Test, Zimbabwe needs just five more wickets to win, while Ireland needs 125 more as we approach the last day.
With 10 wickets remaining, Zimbabwe was down by 28 runs at the start of the day. Like all other days of this Test, the morning session was ideal for batting, and Dion Myers (57) and Sean Williams (40) appeared to profit from the drizzle as they extended their advantage to hundred runs. Nevertheless, Andy McBrine was able to rip through the tail and end with 4 for 58 after Craig Young broke the stand.
Barry McCarthy struck No. 10 Chivanga in the helmet, potentially causing the ball to bounce off his shoulder. Chivanga was forced to retire injured. After passing a concussion test, he made a comeback, but Ireland kept bouncing him, taking a few more hits. After Chivanga was the final player to go, Zimbabwe lost 197 to 1. Only 46 runs were made in their last five partnerships, but those runs would be valuable later when the batting became significantly more difficult when Ireland came to chase.
With his four-over spell late in the day, when he claimed 4 for 12, Ngarava was the hero. It was obvious from looking at the speedometer that he was bowling dangerously fast. Additionally, the way the batters approached him gave the impression that they were always in danger of obtaining an outside edge.
In overcast conditions, the pitch became even more intense, and Blessing Muzarabani joined Ngarava in causing Ireland problems. However, Ireland was unprepared for Ngarava’s furious back-of-length passes that sped off the field. Ngarava made the initial breakthrough of the fourth innings with his second delivery, which zipped through and struck Peter Moor’s gloves.
Then, Curtis Campher hit a short-and-wide ball straight to backward point, giving Ngarava a second wicket. Not that Harry Tector survived a snorter and a shooter, but almost every ball in the Ngarava over seemed like a delivery that would take a wicket.
Then, after 14 balls, Muzarabani claimed his third wicket for Ireland when Andy Balbirnie’s long drive was caught by slip. After being judged to have been taken off guard by Ngarava, Tector was forced to retreat in disgust, maybe believing he had missed. Since DRS was not used in this test and the third umpire could only make line calls, he was likewise unable to review.
Next, Paul Stirling took a few body punches until Ngarava finally caught him off guard as he attempted too many shots. Tucker launched a brief onslaught, hitting two fours to put Ireland in the thirtys, but Zimbabwe had already won that eight-over session by then, and the weather simply prevented the visitors from doing further harm.
Prior to this, Zimbabwe played a good majority of the day at bat. Like Tector later in the day, Prince Masvaure was taken off guard and didn’t believe he was out. Next, Myers, No. 3, and Craig Ervine, No. 4, put on 34, but before lunch, the captain fell, lbw off Mark Adair’s shouldering arms.
With confidence, Williams (number five) took two boundaries off Campher to begin a slow but steady stand of 68 with Myers. Play went on in the drizzle, forcing McBrine to find a way to hold on and Young to give up three boundaries in a 15-run over.
Myers reached fifty and helped Zimbabwe reach 150 even though Young had Williams out of the game and Matthew Humphreys had taken his first Test wicket. After he was ultimately down lbw for 57 while attempting to elude Adair’s gunshot, McBrine cleaned up the tail, leaving the hosts with a goal of 158.
Ireland could reflect on their squandered field goals at the conclusion of the game. McCarthy lost a catch on the follow-through in the second over of the day, giving them a chance. Adair gave Masvaure two lives in a row at third slip by dropping him once more.
The ball exploded over head and Humphreys dropped Myers, who was on 31, at backward point. In his subsequent over, Myers delivered a sliding low catch to Tucker, but Tucker was unable to hold it, forcing McBrine to face another drop. In the over after he had Williams, Young had the opportunity to remove Brian Bennett, but the ball broke through Adair at third slip, damaging him in the process.
Day four looks to have better weather, but Zimbabwe will be bowling with their tails up on a surface that allows for both sideways and up-and-down movement. Ireland hopes the morning isn’t quite as scary as the third-day final practice.
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