An unbeaten 43 from Tony Munyonga steered Zimbabwe to a three-wicket victory over Ireland, and a 1-0 lead in the T20I series in Harare.
Ireland posted 137-8 in an innings temporarily delayed by rain with Lorcan Tucker (46) and Harry Tector (28) adding 53 runs for the second wicket after opener Paul Stirling was out for one.
Zimbabwe reached 141-7 in reply with four balls to spare. The third and final match is set for Tuesday after the first on Saturday was abandoned due to rain.
“I’m really happy for Tony. He is one of our leading scorers in domestic cricket and I’m delighted that he was judged Man of the Match,” said Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza.
“I hope this is the first of many outstanding performances from him. He was calm, found the gaps and ran well.”
Ireland captain Stirling said: “We did not finish our innings well. Then there was a great knock by the Player of the Match.
“Craig [Young] is one of our stalwarts. He missed the ODI series due to a little niggle so we are glad to have him back.”
Curtis Campher (26) was the only other Irish batsman to reach double figures after they lost the toss, with their last five wickets falling for 36 runs.
Medium pacer Trevor Gwandu took three wickets and off-spinner Raza and fast medium pacer Richard Ngarava two each for the hosts.
Tucker, who struck a six and three fours off 40 balls, fell when he got a leading edge to a short-pitched Gwandu delivery and Brian Bennett took the catch at deep fine leg.
Tector, whose knock included four fours, departed earlier when he mistimed an attempted sweep off Raza and Wessly Madhevere darted forward to catch the ball.
Zimbabwe began disastrously in reply with fast medium pacer Young (4-24) taking the wickets of Bennett (eight), Tadiwanashe Marumani (one) and Madhevere (one) to leave the hosts reeling at 14-3.
Ryan Burl (27) and Raza (22) came to the rescue with a 48-run fourth-wicket partnership before both departed within six balls, and Zimbabwe were 64-5 midway through the innings.
A big innings was needed and Munyonga rose to the occasion, striking five fours in a 30-ball stand.
The only disappointment for the 26-year-old was falling two runs short of a career-best T20I knock.
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Captain Craig Ervine top scored with 75 as Zimbabwe made 243 in their first innings on day two of the second and final Test against Afghanistan in Bulawayo.
Batting again, the tourists were 46-3 when bad light stopped play shortly before the scheduled close, leaving them 40 runs behind at Queens Sports Club in the southern city.
Ervine was ably supported by fellow veterans Sikandar Raza (61) and Sean Williams (49) as the home team recovered from 41-4 to build an 86-run first innings lead.
The 39-year-old skipper had partnerships of 71 for the fifth-wicket with Raza and 73 for the eighth wicket with Williams as Zimbabwe chase a first Test victory since beating Afghanistan three years ago.
Ervine struck two sixes and four fours, Raza six fours, and Williams eight fours before walking a run short of a half century despite being given not out.
Williams, who batted lower in the order than usual at No 9 due to a back injury, believed he nicked a delivery from quick Rashid Khan and did not hesitate to depart.
Attempting a paddle-sweep off Zia-ur-Rehman, Raza missed and the ball hit the stumps. Ervine was the last to fall with his sweep caught at deep backward square leg by Riaz Hassan.
Leg spinner Rashid Khan, who claimed the wickets of Williams and Ervine, was the most successful Afghan bowler with 4-94.
Opening bowler Blessing Muzarabani inflicted early second-innings damage on Afghanistan, sending openers Abdul Malik (one) and Hassan (11) to the pavilion with only 18 runs on the scoreboard,
Then, in a huge blow to the visitors, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (13) was bowled by an unplayable Raza delivery that pitched on middle before hitting off.
During the second day it was announced that Ireland will make an all-formats tour of Zimbabwe from 6-25 February. A Test in Bulawayo will be followed by six white-ball matches in Harare.
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Veteran Sikandar Raza and teenager Newman Nyamhuri took three wickets each as Zimbabwe bowled out Afghanistan for 157 on the first day of the second Test in Bulawayo.
Zimbabwe were 6-0 in reply at stumps after the start of play was delayed four hours due to a wet outfield at Queens Sports Club in the southern city.
Captain Craig Ervine won the toss and opted to bowl, believing the conditions would favour his attack, which took a pounding in the drawn first Test, conceding 699 first-innings runs.
His gamble paid off as off-spinner Raza (3-30) and quick Nyamhuri (3-42) starred with each taking a prized Afghanistan wicket.
“Given the conditions, I was convinced bowling first was the way to go. The wicket had been under covers for some time,” said Ervine.
Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah had scored double centuries in the first Test as they put on a national record 364 runs for the third wicket.
After the dismissals of openers Abdul Malik (17) and Test debutant Riaz Hassan (12) with 29 runs on the scoreboard, Shah and Shahidi came together again.
But there was to be no repeat of the run fest of last week, with Shahidi managing just 13 runs and Shah 19.
Shahidi was first to fall, trapped lbw by Nyamhuri, an 18-year-old making only his second Test appearance. The skipper hit two fours when putting on 30 with Shah.
Shah was the next victim as he failed to connect with a Raza delivery and his leg stump flew.
Lower-order batsman Rashid Khan threatened a recovery with a speedy 25. He then struck a poorly placed shot caught by Brian Bennett at deep point.
His departure left the tourists reeling at 125-8, but a 27-run last-wicket stand between Zia-ur-Rehman (eight not out) and Fareed Ahmad (17) helped lift the total.
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