Ireland tour of Zimbabwe

ZIM vs IRE, 1st ODI

Preview

The three-match ODI series between Zimbabwe and Ireland will begin on Wednesday (January 18) at 12:45 PM IST Live. The first match of the series will be played at the Harare Sports Club, Harare. Recently, the hosts won the T20Is 2-1 against Ireland and both sides will now move to the ODI format.

Zimbabwe and Ireland both compete for the selection for the 2023 ODI World Championship. The Hosts failed to qualify for the ODI super Championship directly and now they will play in the qualifiers for getting a chance in the World Championship. The Visitors, on the other hand, have a chance to qualify directly and will hope to tune up their playing XI in this series and gain much-needed confidence ahead of their last series in the ODI Super Championship.

The Hosts won the T20I series 2-1 after winning the 3rd and final match of the 3-match T20I series on Sunday. Zimbabwe's captain Craig Ervine will open the batting with Innocent Kaia or T Marumani expected to partner him at the top. The Hosts have a strong middle order with experienced players Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams, and Ryan Burl in their playing XI. The left-handed batter Gary Ballance might make his debut for Zimbabwe if they need an extra batter on Wednesday in the first ODI.

Their bowling unit will comprise pacers Richard Narva, Luke Jongwe, and Tendai Chatara in the playing XI for the 3-match ODI series. The all-rounder Ryan Burl, Sean Williams, Wesley Madhevere, and Wellington Masakadza will be their spin quartet in the playing XI. Zimbabwe has a strong bowling unit with a lot of variety in their bowling unit.

The Irish opener Andrew Balbirnie had a quiet T20I series and he will be joined by experienced Paul Stirling in the ODIs against Zimbabwe. They have the likes of Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Keeper Lorcan Tucker and George Dockrell who will form the core of the middle order with Tyrone Kane and Stephen Doleny as the backups available in the squad.

The trio of Joshua Little, Barry McCarthy, and Mark Adair will lead their pace attack with Curtis Campher playing as the pace bowling all-rounder in the XI for this series. Gareth Delany will lead the spin attack with the likes of Harry Tector, Paul Stirling, and George Dockrell for the company. Andy McBrine might slot in the playing XI depending on the conditions on offer.

The last ODI series between these Zimbabwe and Ireland ended in a stalemate of 1-1. The Hosts have a 5-2 win-loss record at home and they won both the ODI series at home so far against the Irish side.

Match Details

Match: ZIM vs IRE, 1st ODI, Ireland tour of Zimbabwe, 2023

Date: Wednesday, January 18th, 2023

Time: 12:45 PM (Jan 18)

Venue: Harare Sports Club, Harare, Zimbabwe

Pitch Report: 

Harare is one of the slow pitches with some uneven bounce in it for both bowlers and batters. Harare will have good sunny and bright weather with no interruptions expected. Harare will have a good outfield with the ball flying to the boundaries off the bat. We expect the average scores to be around 250-260 runs in the match. Both teams will look to bowl first as this pitch is slow and batters find it hard to time the ball. Chasing teams won all the T20I matches played so far.

The maximum temperature will remain at 27°C, a low of 16°C with 62% humidity, and a wind speed of 14 Km/hr for the third T20I on Sunday between Zimbabwe and Ireland. Also, there is a hint of cool conditions after a slightly chill afternoon with slight rain with overcast weather. However, unfortunately, rainfall is expected in the next week in Harare. We may have some rain in the third and final T20I with a 40% chance of it.

ZIM vs IRE Squads:

Probable Playing XI

ZIM: Ryan Burl, Innocent Kaia, Sean Williams, Brad Evans, Richard Ngarava, Seam Williams, Wellington Masakadza, Wesley Madhevere, Craig Ervine, Tendai Chatara, Clive Mahande

IRE: Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Stirling, George Dockrell, Curtis Campher, Harry Tector, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Barry McCarthy, Lorcan Tucker, Andy McBrine 

Match Prediction:

The Hosts have a strong pace unit with quality spinners in their bowling unit which they showed during the 2-1 T20I series win over Ireland. Zimbabwe batters have been slightly conservative despite the depth till No.7 in the line-up. The Irish side has a well-balanced team with good batting and bowling unit.

Zimbabwe will hope to continue its winning momentum and win the first match of this 3-match ODI series. We predict Zimbabwe to win this match owing to their home advantage on Wednesday and go 1-0 in the series.

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