Australia got off the mark in the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup with a win over Ireland at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, courtesy of an all-round performance on a pitch that was a bit challenging to bat on.
AUS vs IRE: The Start
Opting to bat first after winning the toss, the 2021 T20 World Cup winners lost the wicket of stand-in captain Travis Head early in the innings as the left-hander was dismissed after scoring just seven runs.
Hoever Josh Inglis, who opened the innings in place of Mitchell Marsh, who missed out after picking up an injury in training a couple of days ago stadied the ship along with fast bowling all-rounder Cameron Green, both of whom added almost fifty runs for the second wicket, 49 to be precise, with individual scores of 37 and 21 runs respectively.
AUS vs IRE: The Approach
If we talk about the approach taken by the Australian batters, especially in the first six overs, it was a sedate one that was dictated by the conditions that were assisting the spinners, with the surface being on the dry side and boundaries being big in size.
Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, the Australian batters kept on rotating the strike, thereby keeping the scoreboard moving.
AUS vs IRE: The Opposition
When it comes to the performance of the Irish bowlers, it was a mixed one as they were good in parishes but were not able to keep the pressure on. Talking about individual efforts, George Dockrell was the pick of the Irish bowlers with figures of 1 for 31 in his spell, of four overs, making full use of the help that was available in the wicket for the slow bowlers.
AUS vs IRE: The Reply
Ireland had to delt a major blow at the start of the chase as the team’s captain, Paul Stirling, got injured on the first ball of the Irish batting innings and had to retire out. The magnitude was such that Ireland wasn’t able to recover from it and lost half the team for 43 runs.
AUS vs IRE: The Rebuild
The pair of Lorckan Tucker and George Dockrell did try to bring things back on track by adding 46 runs for the sixth wicket, but were always chasing the game as the writing was on the wall, courtesy of some disciplined bowling from the Australian bowlers led by Nathan Ellis, who picked up four wickets.
Read More
AUS vs IRE: The Road Ahead
Australia have started the tournament on a positive note and has a game in hand as compared to other teams, while Ireland now finds itself in a difficult situation where it will have to win their remaining games, that too by big margins.
Also Read: How to Bowl Fast? A Simple, Science-Backed Guide To Increase Bowling Speed
