PERSISTENT rain played spoilsport to an entertaining innings by Ryan Burl, as the opening T20I between Zimbabwe and Ireland ended in a no result due to a heavy downpour at Harare Sports Club yesterday.
The match was reduced to nine overs per side due to a late start caused by rain. Returning all-rounder Burl took Zimbabwe from a precarious 11/3 after 1.4 overs to 52/4 when he departed in the sixth over.
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza lost the toss to his Irish counterpart Paul Stirling and was asked to bat first.
Craig Young made early inroads for Ireland, taking two wickets in successive deliveries.
He removed opener Brian Bennett for eight runs and trapped Raza for a golden duck.
However, the introduction of Burl brought life back into the Zimbabwe innings. He hit two massive sixes off Gareth Delaney's bowling in the fifth over, followed by 19 runs off Curtis Campher's bowling in the sixth over, including a cracking six over long on off the first ball.
Burl's dismissal in the seventh over left Zimbabwe sitting pretty on 52/4 after 6.2 overs.
This prompted Wessly Madhevere and Tashinga Musekiwa to run down the batting innings finishing unbeaten on 11 runs off nine balls and 10 from five respectively.
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Zimbabwe totalled 77/5 in their allotted overs but that was as far as the match could go as rains put an end to any possible continuation for the day.
The two sides are scheduled to square off in the second T20I at the same venue this afternoon starting at 1.30pm hoping that the rains stay away at least for the duration of the match.
In a welcome development, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has advised that due to the abandonment of the 1st T20I due to rain, spectators can use their tickets for entry into the ground for the 2nd T20I today.
