Brian Bennett’s very good 169 helped Zimbabwe earn a 49-run win over Eire within the opening one-day worldwide in Harare.
The 21-year-old grew to become the fourth youngest participant to hit an ODI 150 as his 163-ball knock helped the hosts accumulate 299-5, with Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine contributing 66.
Bennett’s maiden ODI century got here in solely his seventh recreation.
Eire skipper Paul Stirling is the youngest participant to have notched an ODI 150 by dint of his 177 towards Canada in 2010 when he was aged 20 years and 4 days.
After Andrew Balbirnie was dismissed from the primary ball of Eire’s reply, Stirling’s 32 and Curtis Campher’s 44 helped the vacationers regroup to 109-2 just for them to droop to 169-6.
A 73-run partnership between George Dockrell (34) and Andy McBrine (32) moved Eire to inside 60 runs of the goal, however they had been each dismissed by Blessing Muzarabani within the area of 4 balls within the forty fifth over to successfully finish Irish hopes.
Richard Ngarava, who had taken Balbirnie’s wicket, mopped up the Eire tail as Matthew Humphreys and Josh Little departed for the addition of solely three extra runs.
Harry Tector (39) and Lorcan Tucker (31) additionally bought begins for the Irish however none of their batters scored sufficiently to place Zimbabwe’s goal below critical menace.
Muzarabani was the choose of the Zimbabwe bowlers as he completed with 4-51, whereas Ngarava took 3-56 and Wesley Madhevere dismissed Tector and Mark Adair.
The three-match ODI sequence continues in Harare on Sunday with recreation two earlier than Tuesday’s concluding contest.
Eire’s Zimbabwe tour, which started with their Take a look at victory in Bulawayo, will then finish with a three-match T20 sequence in Harare.
Eire seamer Barry McCarthy has been dominated out of the white-ball contests due to an belly harm and has been changed by Jordan Neill for the remaining ODIs, with Fionn Hand drafted into the T20 squad.
Eighteen-year-old Neill, who captained Eire ultimately yr’s Underneath-19 World Cup, will hyperlink up with the squad after a brief journey from South Africa the place he has been enjoying membership cricket.
