Last Updated on 3 months by Charbel Coorey
IRE vs ZIM 3rd ODI Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | IRE vs ZIM 3rd ODI Dream11 Prediction | Ireland vs Zimbabwe 3rd ODI Key Players | Belfast Pitch Report
In addition to gaining Super League points and a rare ODI series win, Zimbabwe have even more to play for in this one. Today’s match will be Brendan Taylor’s last ever international for Zimbabwe – a player who has given his all for his country since 2004.
Taylor has ridden the highs and lows of Zimbabwean cricket over the past two decades, and will now be looking to end on a high. The incentive is tantalising, as victory here will put Zimbabwe ahead of South Africa up in ninth position in the ODI Super League points table.
Ireland were hampered by the rain, which denied them the opportunity to defend a solid score of 282 in the second ODI. Their defeat in the opening ODI was costly, and desperately need Super League points today as they have won just three of 14 Super League matches so far.
The stakes are high, and both sides will be looking to put their best foot forward in a crucial game.
Key Players to Watch/Key Stats
Ireland:
- William Porterfield had a sub-par record on this ground and vs Zimbabwe this series. However, he is now in the runs, with 142 to his name this series (the most of any player), with two half-centuries. His strike rate of 67 is in question, though.
- Paul Stirling will be looking to build on his two starts this series (32 and 33). He is yet to find his fluent best in this ODI series (SR 55.08), so eyes will be on how he performs here.
- Stirling has the most runs for Ireland against Zimbabwe in ODIs (485, avg. 37.30) and has the most runs of any player on this ground in ODIs (716, avg. 34.09).
- Andy Balbirnie was looking threatening in the second ODI, before popping a catch to short fine leg to end his innings of 40 (43 balls). Balbirnie will be seeking to further improve on his average vs Zimbabwe (30.70 in 10 ODIs) as well as on this ground (23.40 in 10 ODIs).
- Harry Tector has been a breath of fresh air in recent times. The middle-order batsman has now struck three half-centuries in his last four ODIs, including two in a row this series at a strike rate of 108.24. He will be key again in providing impetus to the innings.
- Simi Singh (1/22 off 10 overs in the first ODI) will be key. He is yet to make an impact with the bat this series, but has been in good touch in recent times.
- Mark Adair has taken 10 wickets in six ODIs on this ground (avg. 25.80), as well as seven wickets in five ODIs vs Zimbabwe (avg. 34.42). He took 1/63 in the first ODI. Josh Little was expensive in the first ODI (1/78 off nine overs), but his wicket-taking threat remains (five wickets in last three ODIs).
Zimbabwe:
- One final hurrah for Brendan Taylor? He looked good for his 49 (45 balls) in the first ODI, part of 335 runs in 11 ODIs vs Ireland at an average of 33.50. This includes a century and half-century.
- Sean Williams (33 runs) and Craig Ervine (64 runs) spent time in the middle in the first ODI. Both have fine records against Ireland (Williams 12 inns, 518 runs, avg. 43.16 and Ervine 11 inns, 468 runs, avg. 46.80). Key players.
- Williams also has the most wickets in IRE-ZIM ODIs out of current players (13 wickets in 13 ODIs, including three in this series).
- Sikandar Raza also loves batting against Ireland. He won player of the match in the first ODI (59* off 44 balls), part of 328 runs vs Ireland overall at an average of 54.66 and strike rate of 92.91.
- Blessing Muzarabani will be a wicket-taking threat once again in cool, damp conditions. He took 4/29 in the first ODI, and has five scalps in total in the series.
Stats and Facts
- Zimbabwe have not won an ODI series against a Test playing nation since beating Sri Lanka 3-2 in 2017.
- Zimbabwe’s last ODI series win came in 2019, with a 4-0 win over UAE at home.
- Ireland will move into fourth spot in the ODI Super League points table if they win today. However, they would have played 15 matches, which is the equal-most alongside England (1st place) and Sri Lanka (5th place).
Possible Playing 11
Ireland: 1. William Porterfield, 2. Paul Stirling, 3. Andy Balbirnie (c), 4. Harry Tector, 5. George Dockrell, 6. Lorcan Tucker (wk), 7. Mark Adair, 8. Simi Singh, 9. Andy McBrine, 10. Craig Young, 11. Josh Little
Zimbabwe: 1. Brendan Taylor, 2. Regis Chakabva (wk), 3. Craig Ervine (c), 4. Dion Myers, 5. Sean Williams, 6. Sikandar Raza, 7. Wessley Madhevere, 8. Luke Jongwe, 9. Wellington Masakadza, 10. Blessing Muzarabani, 11. Richard Ngavara
Civil Service Ground Belfast Pitch Report and Weather
Two scores above 260 (267 and 282) in this series shows that free-flowing run-scoring is very much possible in these conditions. Run-scoring has proven a little more challenging in the early stages, so bowlers will be looking to make inroads when the ball is hardest.
The forecast is for more showers today after rain ruined the second ODI. However, according to AccuWeather, there are showers in the afternoon but there is hope of enough breaks in the rain to allow for a result.
Dream11 Prediction
Note: Teams below are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these teams in time after the final playing XIs have been announced.
Option 1:
Option 2:
Fan2Play Prediction
Match Prediction
Zimbabwe will be motivated to send Brendan Taylor out as a winner. Teams batting first have done well this series, so a score in the region of 270 can be a winning one, weather permitting.
Also read: Fan2Play vs Dream11 – What’s the difference?
