Zimbabwe secured a dominant nine-wicket victory over Ireland in Harare, winning the three-match ODI series 2-1. The star of the show was Ben Curran, who achieved his maiden international century with a career-best 118 runs. This milestone marks the first international century scored by a member of the Curran family, which includes England internationals Tom and Sam Curran, and their late father, former Zimbabwe cricketer Kevin Curran.
Curran’s impressive innings of 118 came off 112 balls and included 14 boundaries, a significant improvement on his previous highest ODI score of 28. He reached his century in the 36th over, hitting off-spinner Andy McBrine for four.
Zimbabwe chased down Ireland’s total of 240-6 with ease, reaching 246-1 with over 10 overs remaining. Rain briefly delayed play at Harare Sports Club. Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine praised Curran’s performance and expressed confidence in the team’s talent.
Curran and fellow opener Brian Bennett (48) established a strong foundation with a 126-run partnership. After Bennett was dismissed, Ervine joined Curran, contributing a rapid 69 runs off 59 balls, including three sixes and five fours, to seal the win. This victory provides a much-needed boost for Zimbabwe after recent series defeats to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Ireland, who had won the preceding one-off Test match, struggled to build momentum in their innings. Captain Paul Stirling was dismissed early for just nine runs, and Curtis Campher followed soon after for 11. Andy Balbirnie (64) and Harry Tector (51) offered some resistance with an 86-run partnership, but both were eventually dismissed. Wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker also scored a half-century (61) before being bowled. Richard Ngarava and Tendai Gwandu each took two wickets for Zimbabwe.
In summary, Zimbabwe 246-1 (B. Curran 118*, C. Ervine 69*, B. Bennett 48) defeated Ireland 240-6 (A. Balbirnie 64, L. Tucker 61, H. Tector 51; R. Ngarava 2-42, T. Gwandu 2-44) by 9 wickets.
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