Ireland vs Zimbabwe, Only Test at Belfast, IRE vs ZIM, Jul 25 2024 - Match Result

An engaging three-and-a-bit days of Test cricket comes to an end. Lots of skills, twists and turns before the hosts completed victory. Seam bowlers had a ball but mainly later in the afternoon. It could've decided the Test yesterday. Instead, Ireland's lower-middle order, led by Tucker and McBrine, did it today. Zimbabwe did their best and clawed back repeatedly but Ngarava couldn't build on an unbelievable spell, where he took four wickets in four overs last evening, today. They'll take heart too and hope for more game time. Same here from the Cricinfo team. I'm Ekanth saying goodbye on behalf of Himanshu Agrawal and Sreshth Shah who've been on comms and penned reports, and our scorer Sudeep Poojar.

Balbirnie collects the award with a smile. More applause, a bit of dancing from one of the kids. The skipper joins the team behind the banner reading winners after a photo by himself. Cheers as he approaches them before the end of the broadcast. Gotta say, those were nice interviews.

Andrew Balbirnie, Ireland captain We did believe last night and had to emphasise that we had our two best Test batters out. It's been better to bat in the morning with better conditions and the hard roller. That partnership was special. Firstly to nullify threat and then carry on. Fitting for Mark, hometown boy, to get us over the line. There's no qualification on the line but you see what it means to the team. You work hard for four days and get rewarded at the end, the ebbs and flows of the game are uniique. It's entertaining stuff, can't watch at times. We worked hard, got ourselves back a couple times and earned the win in the end. It was a really enjoyable Test match. Nice atmosphere, credit to the curator for the pitch, extra special to have families around. Didn't have that in Abu Dhabi. Kinda surreal to have back-to-back Test wins. Look forward to doing it in Zimbabwe in the new year. McBrine is the guy you want to put in your cricket bag and take everywhere. He's so likeable and loves to play for Ireland and it shows. Exceptionally skilful and deserved the award today.

Craig Ervine, Zimbabwe captain is applauded on entry too. These fast-moving Tests are exciting to watch. Something there for batters and bowlers on this pitch which was great. We sort of made the same mistake in our first batting innings, our openers did well but the bottom order let us down in both innings. Maybe inexperienced played a part but we'll take learnings. Our pacers were excellent. We know what they can do. They used the conditions well. We'd have liked 5-6 more overs last night, but that's how the game goes.. Lots of credit to TK for gutsing it out there. Hope he recovers well.. Future is bright. Thought Blessing and Richie bowled well, so they were going to have a burst upfront. Nyauchi was struggling with control, which is partly why we left him out. Chats had the experience and control too, so went with those guys before going to Vickie. Didn't work out today unfortunately. Our games against have Ireland have always been competitive. Look forward to having them on our soil, hope to get one over them then.

Andy McBrine, POTM. Huge cheers as his name's announced. Long applause as the picture's taken. "Fantastic win. We tried to be as positive as we can. Me and Tucker got a good partnership. Bowlers stuck to their guns. Didn't have much in my mind last night, didn't spend that much time. Thankfully, the rain came. Probably didn't think growing up that there'd be a Test here. But we've played a few Tests and got a few more to come. First here, lots to celebrate. (On his bowling) Been working hard behind the scenes with the coach. Happy with the wickets. Shows that hard work pays off. Pacers were fantastic. Not an easy wicket to bowl on but the way they rotated allowed me to take wickets as well. Worked in our favour. Delighted with the family being here." Woohoo, go the crowd as he thanks Andrew Leonard and walks back

Presentations time

Vettelfan17: "These Irish fellows are absolute legends when it comes to cover driving their fans' stress levels over long-off"

Django: "Marvellous for Ireland. Wish there was a second test. Would you say either team benefitted from the lack of DRS? Hope it evened itself out. " Think so, yeah

Azweer : "Another historic day for Ireland. The first innings lead of 40 runs made the huge difference in the Test match."

1:13pm, Day 4, End of match: Adair carries a stump and hands one to McBrine after the players shake hands. Zimbabwe walk back with dropped shoulders. Standing ovation from the fans closeby as Ireland's players go back. Hugs around the boundary boards. Lovely scenes.

Matthew: "This would be some win for Ireland if they get there. What happened? Did the pitch suddenly stop doing things? " Overnight, not suddenly. Weather being completely differed had a say too

Azweer : "My choice for POTM is Andy McBrine."

Brendan : "If Ireland do this (hoping I don't jinx it!), is it fair to say McBrine is a shoo in for player of the match? Seven wickets and this absolutely critical 50. Plus he even chipped in a very useful runs in the first innings. "

Play has been extended!

Jason : "What are the odds on a tie ?" Has to be lesser than an Ireland win now

Time ticking towards lunch. Likely that play will continue. A couple of minutes should provide the confirmation either way. A bit of time taken off as the sunshine shines through

ankur baid : "It's going to be heartbreak for 1 team for sure."