Rain washes away 2nd ODI in Belfast, Zimbabwe leads unbeaten series against vs Ireland
Rain ruined the game in Belfast on Friday when it washed away the second ODI match between Ireland and Zimbabwe to give the visitors an unbeaten 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
The weather didn’t allow the second innings to take place at all after Ireland scored 282 for 8 on the board in 50 overs after being asked to bat first by Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine.
The hosts rode on a super performance from its top-order to post a challenging score but sadly got no chance to defend the total and come back in the series.
Openers William Porterfield and Paul Stirling (33) gave the perfect start to the Irish innings, adding 82 for the first wicket in 22 overs before the former stitched another 69-run partnership with Andrew Balbirnie (40).
Porterfield ended up top-scoring with 67 off 100 balls with 7 fours and a six but it was Harry Tector who’s quickfire 55 off 42 provided the much-needed push to the Irish innings.
Richard Ngarava bagged 3 wickets for Zimbabwe while Blessing Muzarabani, Luke Jongwe and Sean Williams took one each.
But Zimbabwe, who had won the opening ODI by 38 runs at the same venue 2 days ago, never got the chance to pose a reply as relentless rain ended hopes of any cricket in the second innings.
