Zimbabwe hold nerve and ride on Sikandar Raza, Craig Ervine knocks in narrow victory over Ireland

Craig Ervine on his way to his fluent knock in the 1st ODI

The first of the 3-match ODI series between Zimbabwe and Ireland was a closely fought affair in Harare on Friday, with the hosts clinching victory with only two wickets and one over to spare.

Ireland were put in to bat, and would have put on a much more sizeable total on the board had it not been for debutant left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza’s (2/45) late wickets. Ed Joyce and Gary Wilson scored 53 and 70* respectively, but the team came unstuck against the Zimbabwean spinners on a slow track which turned slower as the afternoon wore on.

Right arm off spinner John Nyumbu’s 2/35 were the best figures from the Zimbabwe unit.

Craig Ervine scored a fluent 60 in reply to Ireland’s total, but the hosts found themselves in similar trouble against the Irish spinners – George Dockrell’s 2/29 were the best bowling figures in the match.

After Ervine’s departure, Sikandar Raza stepped in to guide his team to victory. Wickets fell regularly at the other end, but the Zimbabwean tail wagged just about enough to inflict a 2-wicket defeat on Ireland, Raza adjudged the Man of the Match for his 60* under pressure.

Three vital dropped catches would also give pain to Ireland in retrospect.

The first match of the series has been as keenly contested as these two teams’ previous encounters have been, and another potential cracker is set to be played out on Sunday.

A thriller! Zimbabwe hold their nerve to win a tense 1st ODI by 2 wickets: http://t.co/Y00Wbxfwvx #ZimvIre pic.twitter.com/uMLxYueubv

— ICC (@ICC) October 9, 2015

.@SRazaB24 is awarded MoM in the 1st #ZimvIre ODI for expertly playing the role of finisher http://t.co/Y00Wbxfwvx pic.twitter.com/CPRaVWsJrn

— ICC (@ICC) October 9, 2015