Paul Stirling and Gary Wilson steer Ireland to 268 against Zimbabwe in 2nd ODI at Harare

Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza was the most effective bowler claiming three for 49.

Ireland batsmen Paul Stirling and Gary Wilson played an impressive knock of 72 and 65 respectively as they propelled Ireland to a challenging total of 268 for the loss of seven wickets in 50 Overs during the second of the three-match ODI series at the Harae Sports Club on Sunday. Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza was the most effective bowler claiming three for 49. Earlier, Zimbabwe skipper, Elton Chigumbura won the toss and elected to field first, which was indeed a surprise call. Ireland were instantly off to a shaky start as with just 19 runs on the board, they lost their opening wicket in the form of William Prterfield, who was dismissed for mere eight. However, it was soon followed by a 66-run stand between Stirling and Ed Joyce, before Joyce fell at the score of 85 for mere 17. With 41 more added to the total, it was Stirling, who fell for a healthy 72 to Raza, trapping him leg-before. And with 20 more to the total, Andy Balbrine fell unfortunately for a run out just after scoring mere 12. LIVE SCORECARD: Zimbabwe vs Ireland, 2nd ODI at Harare

However, things started looking good again as Niall O’Brien and Wilson put up a 64-run stand for the fifth wicket before Niall fell for just 50 at the score of 210. With just 20 more added to the total, his brother, Kevin O’Brien too was dismissed for mere five by Tinashe Panyangara. However, Ireland had reached a challenging total already. Nevertheless, it was in th 48th over, when Wilson fell for a strong innings of 65, after being unfortunately run out by Hamilton Masakadza, as the score had just crossed 250. The final pair of George Dockrell and John Mooney contributed 17 more to the total as Ireland finished their innings on 268 for the loss of seven in 50 overs, leaving Zimbabwe to chase down 269 to win. LIVE UPDATES: Zimbabwe vs Ireland, 2nd ODI at Harare

Full Scorecard

Brief scores:

Ireland 268 for 7 in 50 Overs (Paul Stirling 72, Gary Wilson 65; Sikandar Raza 3 for 49) vs Zimbabwe.

(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)

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