ZIMBABWE WOMEN TOUR OF IRELAND, 2025
Prendergast scored her third half-century of the white-ball series © Getty
With a comfortable four-wicket win in the second ODI in Belfast on Monday (July 28), Ireland completed a 2-0 ODI series sweep over visitors Zimbabwe following their 3-0 whitewash in the T20Is. Batting first, Zimbabwe could muster only 178 before being shot down at the start of the final over. Ireland, led by Orla Prendergast’s unbeaten 67 and skipper Gaby Lewis’s 44, overhauled the modest target with more than 11 overs to spare.
Zimbabwe opted to bat but suffered another top-order collapse to be reduced to 54/4 in the 17th over after a sedate start, with Alana Dalzell picking two of those in her opening spell with the new ball. That’s when skipper Chipo Mugeri (56) joined hands with Modester Mupachikwa (45) to help Zimbabwe stage a recovery.
The 94-run partnership for the fifth wicket put the team close to the 150-mark before Cara Murray delivered a breakthrough for Ireland. The well-settled pair fell in quick succession, triggering a second collapse in the innings. From 148/4, the visitors folded for just another 30 runs with Dalzell adding two more to her tally to finish with impressive figures of 4 for 36 from her 10 overs.
In response, Ireland also lost wickets just as a partnership were turning threatening, but with no hefty asking-rate, the middle-order could absorb the pressure. Sarah Forbes and Amy Hunter were both back in the hut in the PowerPlay with just 46 runs on the board before Lewis and Prendergast came together. Their 49-run stand helped Ireland rebuild even though the skipper missed out on a fifty by just six runs.
Prendergast carried on to bring up her third half-century of this white-ball series and carried her team to the finish line despite losing three more partners at regular intervals. She hit seven boundaries in her 72-ball unbeaten 67, taking home both the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards.
Brief scores: Zimbabwe 178 all out in 49.1 overs (Chipo Mugeri 56, Modester Mupachikwa 45; Alana Dalzell 4-36, Lara McBride 3-22) lost to Ireland 182/6 in 38.5 overs (Orla Prendergast 67*, Gaby Lewis 44; Loreen Tshuma 4-35) by four wicket
© Cricbuzz
