Ireland beat Zimbabwe by four wickets in a one-off Test in Belfast after recovering from a dramatic top-order collapse.
Ireland’s skipper, Andy Balbirnie, made a crucial decision to field first after winning the toss, which paid off as their bowlers bundled out Zimbabwe for 210 in their first innings.
Ireland replied strongly, but a dramatic collapse saw them lose nine wickets before securing a 40-run first-innings lead.
In their second innings, Zimbabwe’s batting collapse allowed Ireland to gain an advantageous position, needing 158 runs for victory.
Despite a disastrous end to Day 3, Ireland’s batters showed remarkable resolve on Day 4, with half-centuries from Lorcan Tucker and Andy McBrine propelling them towards victory.
However, the match was highlighted by an unusual incident where Tendai Chatara’s valiant effort to stop a boundary ultimately proved futile, allowing the Irish batters to complete five runs.
The batters managed to complete five runs without any overthrows, a rare occurrence in cricket.
It all happened on the second ball of the 18th over bowled by Zimbabwe pacer Richard Ngarava, Andy McBrine hit a neat drive on the off-side as the ball raced towards the boundary line.
However, Tendai Chatara managed to chase it down and save it at the last moment but not before the Irish duo of Andy McBrine and Lorcan Tucker ended up stealing 5 runs.
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