Zimbabwe vs Ireland, 4th Match, First Round Group B at Hobart, T20 WC, Oct 17 2022 - Match Result

11.22 pm Ireland start off their 2022 T20 World Cup campaign just as they ended it in 2021, with a loss to an African nation. Last year it was Namibia and today it is Zimbabwe. For Zimbabwe, who had to sit out the last T20 World Cup due to administrative suspension, they have roared back tonight, and how.

Sikandar Raza is named Player of the Match: "The only thing I said to Sean was let's try to take the team as far as we both can. I just wanted to bat. I didn't want to let any emotions to get the best of me. The best way to get out of that situation was not to let emotions get the better of me. I just wanted to time the ball well and take it from there. I thought the wicket got harder, or I got tired, the second phase of my innings was poor. When they were bowling length, it was very tricky to get going. I was just trying to get into positions to pull, cut and hook. All I was thinking was that if they don't miss their target, I have to do something. [On his excellent 2022 form] There is no secret to be honest. The only secret I can tell you is to try to channel all the emotions of success and failure into the right way and try to complete with the best in the world so we can represent Zimbabweans and put our flag among the best in the world. We wanted to say one thing: when we qualified, as much as we were happy to be here, we knew that our journey is not done. We didn't just come here because we are happy to be representing Zimbabwe. The goal we brought was to get into the Super 12 and take some of the big teams and see where we go. So to have this victory today is certainly humbling, exciting and happy as well. But for me, once the team chat is done, I wouldn't be celebrating this victory. It's done, it's in the past. We have a very tough game against the Caribbean boys in 48 hours time and that's what I'm looking forward to now."

Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie: [Asked if he regrets bowling first after winning the toss] "I don't think so. I don't think I can look back and regret any sort of toss that goes ahead. In hindsight it looks like it might have made a difference but I think we were pretty happy at the halfway stage. We thought it was a good wicket. We expected it to be a good wicket all day. I think when you get blown away four wickets down, you're always up against it. So just bitterly disappointed with how we've started the competition but it's a pretty straightforward shootout now for us. [On Josh Little] He's our best bowler at the moment. He's our strike bowler. He's got a lot of experience in franchise cricket now. He leads that attack brilliantly. He's someone that we're really excited about all formats and hopefully he can continue to progress for us. They bowled really well, got it swinging. A couple nipped as well. It was tricky but we have to counter that as batters and get our team on the front foot and we weren't able to do that tonight."

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine: "We're ecstatic. To put in a performance like that in the first game back in the World Cup, we showed we belong and it's a pity that it has been so long since we last played in a World Cup. [On Raza] He's been a solid performer for us over the last few months and it's exciting to see that he can bring that form here again. Different conditions, bouncier wickets but it didn't change his form so credit to him. He played exceptionally well today. [New ball pair of Ngarava and Muzarabani] What we took from the Ireland innings was to get slightly fuller. We thought Ireland bowled too short t times. Credit to Richard and Bless for hitting their straps and hitting that perfect length. It was difficult to hit through the covers on the up and it wasn't that short. Those were the wickets that we got caught behind. [On late drops] You always know in a competition like this that run rate could be a possibility at the end so we wanted to finish it off as quick as possible. So it was a little bit disappointing not to finish it off but credit to all the guys coming out and putting up a great performance."

That's it from our live coverage today. Stay tuned for the post-match reporting from our team on the ground down under. Come back tomorrow for the Group A doubleheader which starts with the winner's match, Namibia v Netherlands, before Sri Lanka takes on UAE in the nightcap. On behalf of Matt Roller, I'm Peter Della Penna. Take care!