IRE VS ZIM - Super Sixes Match 3, ICC World Cup Qualifiers, 2018

Zimbabwe go top of the table with this win, getting themselves into a really strong position to qualify. That's it from us today. It's a goodbye from Sagar Chawla, Kumar Abhisekh Das, Rishi Roy and our scorer Naga.

Porterfield, Ireland captain: At halftime we were pretty confident. Just think we let ourselves down with the bat.

Cremer, Zimbabwe captain: Bit nervous at the halfway mark. We thought if we can get over 200, it's always tough to chase here. But we didn't think we had enough. To bat with the tail like that is never easy (talking about Raza). He got us to a score that we could actually defend. Jarvis was excellent upfront. To pick up the wickets like we did, couldn't ask for more. The crowd are huge for us. They help us so much out there.

Sikandar Raza, Man of the Match: "Nah can't believe it. At the half-way stage, I thought it wasn't enough and I had my head down. Everyone else told me it was enough, including Sean, and they said that we have the upper hand here. We couldn't let the country down. I just wanted to get a partnership going. It was disappointing to have lost Craig (Ervine) after we had a partnership going. Told Cremer that we can get to 220-225 when he was out there too, but he got out. I was hoping for a good partnership but I was running out of partners. Credit goes to Muzurabani, and if he hadn't hung around, it could've been a different story. We are not shrinking under pressure from the crowd at all. We urge them to come out in numbers, and it gives us a lot of heart to perform in front of them. They're the real deal for us, to be honest. They're the tournament for us and we're playing for them."

What a heroic effort from Sikandar Raza today, backed up by the bowlers later on. But really, it was Raza's knock which kept Zimbabwe in the game. They were in great despair at 112/6, and later at 139/7, when Raza took control of the situation and started shepherding the tail with him. Ireland probably weren't expecting to be chasing 212. They then lost wickets early, as Chisoro ripped through their top-order. Paul Stirling's run out was pretty much the final nail.

Sikandar Raza, Man of the Match: "Nah can't believe it. At the half-way stage, I thought it wasn't enough and I had my head down. Everyone else told me it was enough, including Sean, and they said that we have the upper hand here. We couldn't let the country down. I just wanted to get a partnership going. I was upset to have lost Craig (Ervine) after we had a partnership going. Told Cremer that we can get to 220-225 when he was out there too, but he got out. I was hoping for a good partnership but I was running out of partners. Credit goes to Muzurabani, and if he hadn't hung around, it could've been a different story. We are not shrinking. We urge them (the crowd) to come out in numbers, and it gives us a lot of heart to perform in front of them. They're the real deal for us, to be honest. They're the tournament for us and we're playing for them."

15:58 Local Time, 13:58 GMT, 19:28 IST: Jubilant scenes here in Harare, with Castle Corner singing along in unison as they watch their team celebrate. Zimbabwe are ever so close now to that World Cup berth. One more win will probably do it. The players are taking a lap around the boundary, thanking the fans who turned up. They were behind their team right through the day, making a lot of noise and lifting them up.

Cremer to Murtagh, out Caught by Mire!! That's it, Zimbabwe win. Flighted leg-break, lures Murtagh into the slog but doesn't connect with it well enough. Mire takes a well composed catch at deep mid-wicket. Murtagh c Mire b Cremer 4(9)

Cremer to Murtagh, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

amankadyan: "Zimbabwe is taking full advantage of home conditions. Is it fair?" -- They do have the home support, but the conditions today were far from those that any cricketer would hope for.

Cremer to Murtagh, no run, beats him with the googly to hit the pad, had pitched outside leg though

Raza to Murtagh, 1 run, lots of hesitation, there's a chance at the bowler's end but it's a bad throw. Chance gone. Murtagh took a long time to respond to McBrine's call, who was around halfway down the pitch

Raza to Andy McBrine, 1 run, lunges forward and knocks it with the turn wide of short cover

Raza to Murtagh, 1 run, flighted off-break on off, Murtagh hacks it through mid-wicket

Raza to Andy McBrine, 1 run, drifting in on leg, glanced to the left of short fine leg

Raza to Andy McBrine, no run, skids on and hits McBrine on the pad again

Raza to Andy McBrine, no run, drifting in from round the wicket, McBrine misses his flick and is hit on the pad

Cremer to Murtagh, 2 runs, clipped away with the turn behind square, placed well enough for two

Cremer to Murtagh, no run, gets opened up by the googly and is hit on the pad. But it had pitched outside leg

Cremer to Murtagh, no run, defended to short mid-wicket

Cremer to Murtagh, no run, another leading edge, but this one dies quickly to point