Ireland 245 for 6 (Botha 79, K O'Brien 62, Cusack 47) beat Zimbabwe 244 for 8 (Chigumbura 103*, Taibu 45) by four wickets
Andre Botha's half-century ensured a four-wicket win for Ireland against Zimbabwe in their World Cup warm-up game at Nagpur.
Batting first, Zimbabwe clawed their way back from a top-order collapse to finish at 244 for eight, with captain Elton Chigumbura's 103 not out off 81 balls leading the way.
Ireland's chase was highlighted by key innings from Botha (79), Alex Cusack (47), and Kevin O'Brien (62 not out), but Zimbabwe bowled well to ensure the match went down to the final over as victory for the Irish came with three balls to spare.
"It was the worst fielding performance we have produced since I took over as coach," said a disappointed Alan Butcher afterwards. "It was diabolical and unacceptable and I told the players that. We didn't score enough runs and it was actually a good effort to get so close to victory given how poorly we fielded."
For Chigumbura it was a day of mixed emotions: "I'm pleased to have scored the hundred and to get back to form - hopefully I can carry it on for the rest of the tournament. But we will have to improve as a team and it was very disappointing to field like we did and to lose."
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