Ireland 141 for 4 (Tector 54*, Dockrell 49*) bat Zimbabwe 140 for 6 (Burl 36, Bennett 27, Delany 2-8, Little 2-21, Young 2-27) with six wickets
With 141 to chase, it looked like even this game could go down to the last over like the last two when Ireland stumbled to 37 for 4 in seven overs.
But Dockrell and Tector dealt with Zimbabwe’s spin threat and soon put Ireland in the driving seat. In the end they achieved victory with eight balls to spare.
The momentum changed after the 12th over. Ireland were going to a ball by then, and the asking rate was rising. Tector, who had played a key role in Ireland’s run chase in the second T20I, hit 13 off 21 balls. Zimbabwe needed 69 off 48 balls.
Dockrell then hit Zimbabwe stand-in captain Ryan Burl for two sixes in a 13th over of 16 runs, and Ireland took another 12 from the next over, bowled by Wellington Masakadza, to reduce the deficit to 41 from the last six.
Tector then shifted gears himself and ended up racing to a 41-ball half-century as he finished the series as the top scorer. He was, however, the first to admit in his post-match chat that it was Dockrell who engineered the win by taking the pressure off him when he struggled early on, on a pitch where the ball often held low.
Zimbabwe, already without the suspended Sikandar Raza, had to name a third captain in as many games in this series with Sean Williams out with the side injury he suffered during the second T20I.
It led to a major reshuffle, with captain Tadiwanashe Marumani and fast bowler Trevor Gwandu also making way as legspinner Brandon Mavuta, left-arm spinner Masakadza and batsman Tony Munyonga came into the side.
After the placement, Zimbabwe continued to endure top-class competition. Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, sent in to open after an impressive knock at No.3 on Saturday, was trapped just outside Josh Little’s first ball.
But then Brian Bennett, who went 1 and 0 in his first two internationals, made the most of his promotion to No. 3. Ireland’s bowlers targeted him with short balls but he did not hesitate to pull and get stuck. of the barrage. Zimbabwe scored only 26 in their first five overs but ended the powerplay on a high when Bennett pulled Barry McCarthy for back-to-back sixes.
But Gareth Delany turned the game around in the next over, first trapping Wessly Madhevere lbw after missing a pull on one that stayed low and then getting Bennett to cut the ball for a 19-ball 27.
Burl was almost out on the first ball but Tucker couldn’t hold on to a catch from the inside edge. Burle then teamed up with Munyonga before Craig Young put the latter on.
As in the second T20I, Burl and Madande put on a defiant stand, adding 55 off 47. But Young gave Ireland a crucial breakthrough by bouncing Madande out before Burl drove Little straight to Delany at cover.
Mavuta and Luke Jongwe added an unbroken 24-run stand for the seventh wicket, taking Zimbabwe’s total to 140.
Zimbabwe started well with the ball again, with Richard Ngarawa trapping Paul Sterling in front in the first over. Blessing Muzarabani, who was brought into the attack in the fourth over after Masakadza opened the bowling with Ngarava, also struck in his first over when Andy Balbirnie failed to pull Burl, who did well by backpedaling through the middle.
Lorcan Tucker swept Masakaja for a boundary but missed his stumps trying the same shot on the next ball.
Curtis Campher joined Tector at the crease but was struggling to remove the spinners, especially Mavuta, and the legspinner eventually got a lead off him which was gobbled up at cover.
That brought Tector and Dockrell together and the two proceeded to complete the chase almost flawlessly, with Dockrell hitting the winning runs for the second game in a row.
Abhimanyu Bose is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo