On one hand, the ODI series is going on between India and England, on the other hand, a Test series match is being played between Sri Lanka and Australia, while an ODI series between Pakistan-South Africa-New Zealand is also going to start. Everyone is busy discussing them at this time. But apart from these big teams and away from everyone's discussions, a great Test match is going on between two teams, where one player has created such a ruckus that he alone has become the strength of his team. This match is taking place in Bulawayo where this Test match is being played between host Zimbabwe and Ireland. Only 2 days of play have taken place in this match but Zimbabwe's fast bowler Blessing Mujarbani has attacked Ireland fiercely with the ball and bat.
This one-off Test match between Zimbabwe and Ireland started on Thursday, 6 February and its second day was on Friday, 7 February. In these two days of play, one innings of each team ended, while Ireland's second innings also started. After two days of play, the visiting team also gained a lead of 76 runs. So far, some players from both teams have achieved special heights in this match, but the most amazing performance has been of the tall Muzarabani, who brought the Ireland batsmen to their knees with his bowling on the first day and then pulled Zimbabwe out of the difficult situation with his batting on the second day.
On the first day of the match, Ireland's team could only score 260 runs in the first innings and the reason for this was Blessing Muzarabani. This right-handed fast bowler destroyed Ireland's top order as soon as he came in and took 4 out of the first 5 wickets. Muzarabani bowled brilliantly in this innings and took 7 wickets for 58 runs in 18 overs. This is the best performance of his career, while this is the second time he has taken 5 wickets in an innings. The team expected and needed Muzarabani in bowling and this was also his job, but the work he did with his batting was something that no one would have expected.
Zimbabwe had made a strong start but the middle order batsmen could not stay on the crease and the team which lost 3 wickets for 143 runs, lost 9 wickets for 200 runs. The team was in trouble and at such a time Muzarabani, who came at number 10, played an explosive innings. This bowler showed his magic with the bat and scored 47 runs with the help of 6 fours and gave the team a lead of 7 runs by sharing 67 runs with Trevor Gwandu. Muzarabani missed his half-century but along with giving the team the lead, he also made the highest score of his Test career. By the end of the day's play, Ireland had scored 83 runs in the second innings by losing only 1 wicket.
