Hobart: Zimbabwe beat Ireland by 31 runs.
The May Islands fail…
The 8th T20 World Cup started yesterday in Australia. Out of the 16 teams that participated in this series, 8 teams directly advanced to the Super 12 round. 8 teams are participating in the first round matches to select the remaining 4 teams. In the first match held today, Scotland shocked the former champion West Indies.
Match 2…
In the 2nd match held following this, the Zimbabwe-Ireland teams clashed. Ireland won the toss and elected to bowl first. Accordingly, Regis Sakabwa and captain Craig Irwin were fielded as openers in the Zimbabwe team.
Confusion…
Regis Sakhabwa ducked out before Zimbabwe started the run count. Following him, Wesley was bowled out for 22 and returned to the pavilion, and in the next over, captain Craig Erwin lost his wicket after scoring only 9 runs. Due to this, at one stage the Zimbabwean team lost 3 wickets for 37 runs and stumbled.
Sikandar Raza…
Sean Williams was then paired with experienced all-rounder Sikandar Raza. Sikandar Raza showed action to keep Williams calm in the pair. Sikandar rained fours which destroyed the bowling of the Irish team. Sean Williams was then dismissed for 12 runs. Despite falling wickets at one end, Sikandar Raza continued to play well with his half-century.
Accumulation of 174 runs…
Due to his actions, at the end of 20 overs, the Zimbabwean team accumulated 174 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. Sikandar Raza, who scored 82 runs off 48 balls, lost his wicket in the last ball of the innings. Joshua took 3 wickets, Simi Singh and Mark Adair took 2 wickets each on behalf of the Irish team.
Zimbabwe win…
Following this, Ireland entered the field with the target of winning if they score 175 runs. The team was in for a shock from the start. The team’s opening and middle-order players Andrew Palbirni (3 runs), Paul Stirling (duck out), Lorcan Tucker (11 runs) and Harry Tector (1 run) were dismissed. As a result, the team lost 4 wickets for 22 runs. In the end, the Irish team lost 9 wickets and scored only 143 runs at the end of 20 overs.