Zimbabwe eyes rare series sweep

Zimbabwe, meanwhile, has been unrelenting in this series and duly finds itself on the right side of a 2-0 margin. It heads into the final match of the series with the confidence gained from its first ODI series win in more than two years. The win was made possible by a fabulous century from Craig Ervine, who anchored its chase of 269 with an unbeaten 101. Ervine was also instrumental in Zimbabwe winning the opening encounter, when his 60, along with an identical score by Sikandar Raza, aided Zimbabwe's chase of a small, yet tricky target. Raza also came good in the last match with a breezy 33 in the latter part of the chase. Zimbabwe's area of concern will be the opening combination of Chamu Chibhabha and Richmond Mutumbami, neither of whom has made a big score in the two games.

As is the case with Ireland, Zimbabwe has relied on spin. John Nyumbu, the off-break bowler, has done a reasonable job in both games. He will have the part time left-arm spin of Sean Williams for support.

The last time Zimbabwe swept a series was in 2008-09, when it beat Kenya 5-0 away. The third ODI will offer the home side an opportunity to repeat that feat.

Teams (from):

Zimbabwe: Elton Chigumbura (capt), Sikandar Raza Butt, Brian Chari, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Luke Jongwe, Neville Madziva, Wellington Masakadza, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Taurai Muzarabani, John Nyumbu, Tinashe Panyangara, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams.

Ireland: William Porterfield (capt), Andrew Balbirnie, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, John Mooney, Tim Murtagh, Andrew McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Stuart Poynter (wk), Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson (wk), Craig Young.