and that's it. Three fours in three balls to seal the win. Not a great shot but Ireland won't mind that. A length ball around off, Dockrell swings at it, gets a top edge over short third man for another boundary
Ireland vs Zimbabwe, 2nd T20I at Dublin, SCOT v ZIM, Aug 29 2021 - Ball by Ball Commentary
That's all from our side. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. See you soon.
Andy Balbirnie: I said at the start what a good score was. To chase it down with three down was a good feeling. Really happy for Kevin, he works as hard as anyone in the nets. In the last game, early wickets had put us on the back foot. A couple of lean games and people were asking for Kevin's head. We know how good Simmi is, he has been our standout player this year.
Craig Ervine: We were happy the way we finished our innings. Shumba and Burl gave us the momentum going into the second innings. You always want to start off the innings well, in the powerplay, so that's a bit of concern. We have got the youngsters who can throw themselves around in the field. Today, Kevin batted well and everyone just batted around him.
Kevin O'Brien is the Player of the Match. "It's always good to score runs but after coming off 0, 0 and 2 in the last three games, it was good to spend time in the middle," he says. "I am at that stage of the career where I know how to score runs. It was good to score runs and keep people quite for a while."
So the series stands at 1-1 with three games to go. We will have the presentation soon, stay tuned.
3.15pm A victory with nine balls to spare, no miracle this time for Zimbabwe as Dockrell finishes it off in a jiffy. Paul Sterling laid the foundation and once he departed Kevin O'Brien took over, smashing 60 off 41 balls. By the time he was dismissed, Ireland needed only 24 from 26 balls. Dockrell and Tector ensured there were no hiccups.
Dharshanaj: "Oh no.. Ngarava... you are my last over bowler... "
fuller and wider outside off and almost an action replay of the last ball. Another hit over covers. This time way too high for the fielder to even try getting a hand
fuller outside off and smashed over covers after taking his front leg out. The fielder at extra cover had no chance
12 required from 12. Ngarava to bowl
fuller outside off, drills it towards deep extra cover
brilliant effort at deep midwicket. Fuller on the stumps, and clipped over by Dockrell. It was going away from the fielder who dived this his left to stop the boundary
Dharshanaj: "Ngarava will defend anything above 05 in the last over.. hope so.. Sri Lankan fan supporting Zimbabwe.."
fuller around off, smashed but straight towards mid-off
a bouncer from Jongwe, outside off. Tector comes down the ground and goes for the pull. An appeal for caught-behind but there was no bat involved
That was O'Brien's first T20I fifty since October 2019, in 20 games, Firdose tells me
down the track and swipes at it. Didn't middle it. A single to wide long-on
length ball around off, pushes uppishly towards short midwicket
17 needed from 18. Jongwe to bowl out
fuller outside off, pushes it towards cover-point and sets off
length outside off, slashes it towards extra cover
comes down the wicket but Ngarava slips in a bouncer. Ducked under in the end
length ball around off, punched towards deep-backward point where the fielder fumbles and allows the second run
short of length around off, hops and taps it down towards third man
length ball angling across, beats the batter on the cut
Jezza : "Effective Irish bowling in Zimbabwe's first 10 overs has won the match for them. Since then batsmen have dominated but it's the bowlers who put Ireland on top. Fine match to showcase these two teams. "
Ngarava now, can he conjure something here?
length ball outside off, punched towards sweeper cover
length ball at the batter. Worked towards mid-on for a quick single
Tector now. 24 needed from 26
Jason : "Little, Gareth Delany, Adair etc are also missing for Ireland "
caught at mid-off. A length ball outside off, O'Brien gives himself some room but fails to get the elevation and ends up whipping it straight to Shumba
length outside off, guided towards third man once more
short of length outside off, opens the face at the last moment to hit it to the left of third man