Zimbabwe
Ireland
After staying away from international cricket for almost two months, both Zimbabwe and Ireland will play a three-match T20 series against each other. The first game of the Zimbabwe vs Ireland series will take place on Thursday at Harare Sports Club. The fixture between two minnows of cricket will surely be an entertaining one for the bettors as top bookmakers will surely be giving some fancy odds.
The hosts performed well in the ICC T20 World Cup and they gave a tough time to every opposition. Similarly, Ireland also did a great job at the group stage but unfortunately, both the teams were unable to make it to the knockout stage. The whole series is expected to be an absolute thriller and a positive end is expected for both teams.
Zimbabwe has recently picked up a pace in international cricket after almost disappearing from the circuit. They qualified for the ICC T20 world cup after six years and gave some unexpected shocks in the tournament. One of the most beautiful memories for Zimbabwe during the world cup was defeating Pakistan in a last-bowl thriller during a group-stage fixture.
Ireland has always come out as a strong opposition; they have always given a tough time to some experienced teams on international pitches. Ireland’s ICC T20 World Cup memory will be defeating England in a group-stage fixture and making things difficult for the world champions.
The first T20 will be a thrilling game to watch out for and can be a run feast with over 300 being scored in the whole match. We predict Zimbabwe’s win in the first T20 fixture.
The betting tip is...
Zimbabwe will Win
ZimbabweIrelandZimbabwe will be hosting Ireland for a three-match T20 and ODI series. The team is coming to play international cricket after a break of two months. However, considering their recent achievements, Zimbabwe will be a difficult team to beat. They have the advantage of the home pitch and for any visitor, Zimbabwe pitches have acted as a surprise destination.
Sikandar Raza has been given permission to miss the T20I series in order to play in the UAE’s ILT20.
Predicted Lineup: Wesley Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Regis Chakabva(wk), Dion Myers, Craig Ervine(c), Milton Shumba, Luke Jongwe, Donald Tiripano, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava
Ireland will be touring an international location after the ICC T20 World Cup. They are coming to play with some new faces on the team under the leadership of Andy Balbirnie. Joshua Little and Paul Stirling will be missing out on the series as they will be part of ILT20 and SA20 respectively. Harry Tector will be the player to watch out for in the Irish camp.
Andrew Balbirnie has been named as the captain of the Ireland T20I and ODI cricket team for the Ireland Tour of Zimbabwe 2023. Paul Stirling and Josh Littleabsence from the T20I squad have created space for the return of Ben White and Neil Rock. The Ireland playing XI will look like this:
Predicted Lineup: Ben White, Kevin O’Brien, Andy Balbirnie(c), Shane Getkate, George Dockrell, William McClintock, Neil Rock(wk), Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young
The last time these two teams met was in September 2021 when Zimbabwe was on a tour of Ireland. Ireland won the series at home but this time Zimbabwe has the upper hand on home pitches and we predict Zimbabwe’s win in the first T20 fixture.
