(MENAFN- Kora)
Brendan Taylor's side were beaten in their opening Group B game on Monday when Ireland scrambled a single off the last ball at Sylhet Stadium to win by three wickets
Two days on from that defeat, Zimbabwe also needed just a single from the final ball of the game to beat the Dutch at the same venue
And Vusi Sibanda (nine not out) got them over the line in emphatic fashion, smashing Ahsan Malik (1-30 off four overs) for six over long-on to reach their victory target of 141 after Sean Williams (26) had been run out from the previous delivery
Tom Cooper had earlier followed up his impressive performance against the United Arab Emirates with an unbeaten 72 from just 58 deliveries as the Netherlands made 140-5 after winning the toss and electing to bat first
The Australia-born Cooper hit nine fours and a six to ensure Peter Borren's side posted a competitive total after the Netherlands had slumped to 35-4, with Prosper Utseya (2-24 off four) the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe
Hamilton Masakadza (43) and Taylor (49) set Zimbabwe well on their way to chasing down their target, but the Netherlands put up a fight with Pieter Seelaar (2-9 off two) impressing
But Sibanda held his nerve to clear the ropes and secure a vital win for his side
Ireland are in pole position to qualify from Group B and there was more drama as they secured a 21-run Duckworth-Lewis win over the United Arab Emirates
A victory over the Netherlands on Friday will see Ireland through after they reduced the UAE to 123-6 from their 20 overs
Paul Stirling (2-12 off three) and Kevin O'Brien (2-17 off four) shone with the ball and, despite losing the dangerous Stirling when he was struck on the elbow by a Sharif Asadullah delivery and retired hurt for eight, Ireland were poised to chase down their target until the floodlights failed on three occasions
When the lights finally came back on, the rain soon arrived but Ireland were ahead of the rate at 103-3 thanks in no small part to captain Will Porterfield (33 not out) and Ed Joyce (43) and were able to celebrate taking a step closer to the Super 10 stage of the tournament
The Netherlands and Zimbabwe are both on two points ahead of the final Group B matches, with Zimbawe taking on the UAE on Friday
There were also four warm-up matches played on Wednesday, with tournament favourites Australia edging New Zealand by three runs, while defending champions West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 33 runs with spinner Sunil Narine taking four wickets
Virat Kohli hit 74 as India recorded a 20-run win over England and South Africa thrashed Pakistan by eight wickets, chasing down their victory target of 72 in 14 overs
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