Ireland vs Zimbabwe 1st T20 Preview & Tips - Ireland set for comfortable win on home soil

Ireland lead 2-1 in their three T20I matches against Zimbabwe. They last met in July 2019 where Zimbabwe won by eight wickets.

Ireland lost their most recent T20I series 3-0 at home to South Africa. While that was very much expected, Ireland would have taken plenty of confidence from their performances.

In the 3rd T20I in Belfast Ireland bowled first. The bowlers really struggled and only managed two wickets as South Africa posted a 189-run total.

Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie scored 18 and 27 respectively but they had no support. Ireland eventually reached 140-9 after 20 overs, losing by 49 runs.

The positive for Ireland is the return to form of opening batsman, Paul Stirling. He scored 31 and 61 runs in his final two matches of The Hundred.

Curtis Campher will be looking to make his debut after receiving his maiden T20 call-up.

Zimbabwe have lost five of their last six T20I fixtures. After a 3-0 series loss to Pakistan they suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Bangladesh.

Batting first in the 3rd T20 in Harare, Zimbabwe posted a good total of 193 runs. Wessley Madhevere top scored with 54 runs while Regis Chakabva smashed 48 from 22 balls.

Bangladesh however managed to chase the total down with four balls to spare. Blessing Muzarabani took 2-27 in four overs but got little support from the others. He has had a fantastic 2021 and continues to produce some of the best figures in the T20 game.

Craig Ervine will captain the Zimbabwe side after Sean Williams pulled out of all international cricket.

On the batting front Zimbabwe will hope that Regis Chakabva and Wessley Madhevere will continue their fine form. They also heavily rely on Blessing Muzarabani on the bowling front.