Australia beat Ireland by 42 runs to move to the second spot in the points table in the ICC T20 World Cup.
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Earlier in the day, Irish skipper Balbirnie won the toss and opted to bowl first. They had an excellent start, dismissing David Warner early in the innings. Australia managed to score only 38 at the end of the powerplay.
Finch along with Marcus Stoinis started building a partnership. They were helped by some poor bowling from the Irish bowlers as the runs came thick and fast for the hosts. The 70-run stand came to an end when Finch holed out in the deep on 63. Stoinis scored 35 which helped Australia post 179 on the board.
Barry McCarthy was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland as he picked up three wickets, giving away 29 runs in his four overs. Joshua Little also finished with figures of 2/21.
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The Irish batters failed to step up as they were knocked over on 137 by the World Champions. Stick around for the post-match presentation.
Chasing 180 was always going to be a tough task and the Irish side got off to the worst start. Andrew Cummins knocked over Andrew Balbirnie in the second over. Glenn Maxwell picked up two wickets in the third over.
Mitchell Starc was unplayable in his first over as he knocked over two Irish batters as Ireland reeled at 25/5 at the end of four overs. Lorcan Tucker looked positive at the crease and played some brilliant strokes. He along with Gareth Delany stitched a partnership and steadied the ship.
The 43-run stand was broken as Delany was dismissed on 14. Tucker stood tall against the Australian bowlers but lacked support from the other end as the Irish side kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Tucker brought up his fifty and remained unbeaten on 71 but it wasn’t enough as they got bundled out on 137. Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, and Adam Zampa picked up two wickets apiece as they took Australia to a 42-run victory.
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