Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine's faith in spin paid off when Wessly Madhevere took a hat-trick to set up a dramatic finish as Zimbabwe beat Netherlands by one run in the second of three World Cup Super League one-day internationals in Harare on Thursday.
It went down to the last ball when last man Ryan Klein was run out attempting a near-impossible third run which would have tied the match.
The Netherlands were seemingly cruising in pursuit of Zimbabwe's 271 all out at 213 for four before off-spinner Madhevere dismissed Colin Ackermann, Teja Nidamanuru and Paul van Meekeren off the first three balls of the 44th over.
"I never imagined myself taking a hat-trick," said Madhevere.
"My task was to go for less than five runs an over. Taking a hat-trick was a bonus."
Colin Ackermann ?
— ICC (@ICC) March 23, 2023
Teja Nidamanuru ?
Paul van Meekeren ?
A stunning hat-trick for Wessly Madhevere ??
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Madhevere scored 43 as an opening batsman and took three for 36 in nine overs to be named player of the match.
Madhevere and fellow off-spinner Sikandar Raza bowled in tandem until the 47th over and both took three wickets on a pitch that favoured slow bowlers.
Although fast bowler Tendai Chatara came back to bowl two overs at the end, Ervine kept Raza on to bowl the 49th over.
It paid off when he had Netherlands captain Scott Edwards caught at long-on for 36, with 20 runs still needed off nine balls.
"Probably six extra runs would have been ideal," Edwards said of his failure to clear Brad Evans on the boundary.
It came down to 10 needed off the last two balls.
Fred Klaassen hit a six off Chatara and then drove the last ball into the covers. The batsmen ran two but Brad Evans' throw to Chatara left Klein well short of his ground as the batsmen tried for a third run.
Max O'Dowd (81) and Tom Cooper (74) laid the foundation for what seemed a likely Netherlands win with a second-wicket partnership of 125 off 152 balls.
Sean Williams, returning after a finger injury, top-scored for Zimbabwe with 77 while 19-year-old leg-spinner Shariz Ahmad took five wickets for 43 runs for the Netherlands.
"It's my first five-for, it's a great feeling," said Shariz.
"But I would have loved to win the match rather than take a five-for."
Zimbabwe make a spectacular comeback to register a thrilling win in Harare to level the ODI series ??
— ICC (@ICC) March 23, 2023
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ZIMBABWE: Craig Ervine (capt), Wessly Madhevere, Gary Ballance, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Clive Madande (wk), Wellington Masakadza, Brad Evans, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani
NETHERLANDS: Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd, Tom Cooper, Musa Ahmed, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (capt/wk), Teja Nidamanuru, Shariz Ahmad, Paul van Meekeren, Fred Klaassen, Ryan Klein