IRELAND won the only Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, before the hosts clinched the ODI series 2-1.
That leaves the upcoming three-match T20I series, starting today, to decide which team grabs the bragging rights on this multi-format tour.
ESPNcricinfo looks ahead at the big talking points ahead of the T20Is.
The big picture
We are just 12 months away from the next T20 World Cup, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, and Ireland already have their tickets for the event in hand.
They made it there by virtue of their ranking, even as they had missed out on a Super Eights berth at last year’s T20 World Cup.
Ireland’s squad for the T20Is against Zimbabwe represents the best going around in the country, and they will be looking to fine-tune their game before meeting West Indies for three T20Is at home in June.
As it stands, Ireland don’t have any more T20Is lined up against Full Members until next year’s global event.
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For Zimbabwe, ranked No 12, to make the next T20 World Cup, they need to make it out of the Africa qualifiers that they will be hosting in September this year.
On paper, Zimbabwe should be favourites to make the cut, but they had failed to qualify for the 2024 edition and won't be taking anything for granted.
Their T20I squad is going through a flux — just like their Test and ODI teams — and their short-term goal will be to make full use of the crucial playing time against a challenging opponent while also better understanding their best XI.
How the two teams stack up
With Zimbabwe being led by Sikandar Raza, who recently won the ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates as Dubai Capitals’ vice-captain, the hosts have one of the most dynamic allrounders in the format on their side.
Brian Bennett and Johnathan Campbell will be looking to extend their good form with the bat, while Dion Myers returns to the squad with a point to prove after being left out for the ODIs.
Ryan Burl’s presence gives Zimbabwe’s batting some depth and the pair of Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava bring fast-bowling prowess.
Ireland, though, begin the series on the back foot, with the ODIs not going their way, and their in-form seamer Mark Adair ruled out with injury.
Josh Little, their swing-bowling left-arm seamer, has been off-colour on this tour, so Ireland will need Graham Hume and Matthew Humphreys to continue stepping up as they have done on this
tour.
Paul Stirling, Ireland’s captain, alongside Harry Tector and Curtis Campher, are their most explosive batters and they will have to do the heavy lifting if Ireland are to win this series.
Craig Young has been drafted in for the T20Is to make up for Adair’s absence.
What to expect
All three T20Is will be played in Harare, the same venue as the ODIs.
The pitches there were helpful for batters while the ball was new, but aided spin as the surface wore on.
Like the ODIs, even the first two T20Is will be day games.
The third one, though, will be played entirely under floodlights, thus starting at 6:30pm.
When Zimbabwe played Afghanistan in Harare last December, the first-innings scores were 144, 153 and 127 and the chasing side won two out of three games.
Ireland and Zimbabwe had also played T20Is in Harare twice in 2023 — first in January and then again in December — with the chasing side winning all six games.
