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BRISBANE. — A clinical display with both bat and ball helped defending champions Australia thrash Ireland by 42 runs to pick up two crucial points in a crunch ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup game in Brisbane yesterday.
After skipper Aaron Finch (63 off 44) and Marcus Stoinis (35 off 25) set the hosts up for a challenging 179/5, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc’s double-wicket opening overs had Ireland in tatters on 25/5 by the end of the fourth over. Lorcan Tucker’s valiant hand of 71* notwithstanding, the result of the match was a forgone conclusion.
David Warner fell cheaply in a third successive game, but skipper Finch and Mitch Marsh put on a quick 52-run stand in exactly six overs to not let the hosts feel the pinch. While the No. 3 got going with a brutal pull first ball, it was the Australian captain who led the charge in the powerplay — going after a returning Mark Adair with a 14-run over that included a monster hit over midwicket for maximum runs.
Marsh began to flex his arms just after powerplay, of which Australia managed 38/1. He smoked two full balls from Fionn Hand over midwicket in the big 15-run seventh over, to bring up Australia’s fifty and that of their partnership a little later.
The wicket of Marsh came against the run of play. Just like how Barry McCarthy had made an impact in the powerplay first ball, he returned into the attack in the 8th and had the Australian under-edging a cut to the ‘keeper who took a diving catch to his right. Maxwell survived two LBW calls early on against Delany — the first he got overturned due to the edge, and the second was sent upstairs by Ireland only to find the impact was outside.
However, Joshua Little had him slashing a delivery wide outside off for an easy catch behind soon after.
A couple of quiet overs from McCarthy and George Dockrell next meant Australia had only progressed from 60/1 at the beginning of the ninth over to 92/3 at the end of 13th.
The next four overs were probably the most productive of Australia’s innings, the ones where Finch and Stoinis collected a massive 63 and set the team up for their match-winning total. Stoinis began the carnage with a massive 16-run over to spoil Delany’s otherwise miserly spell until that point, with his first six and four.
Adair returned and was taken to the cleaners in the most expensive over of the game where he sent down as many as five wides.
Stoinis fetched two boundaries there and nearly sent one over the ropes if not for the incredible boundary-line save from McCarthy, and Finch closed the over with a six heaved well over midwicket that would bring up his 38-ball fifty.
McCarthy finally put an end to his fireworks with a low full toss that the Australia captain holed out to long-on, and Little sent back Stoinis in the next. But Adair leaked three boundaries in his final over as well to allow Australia to a strong 179/5. — Cricbuzz
Online Reporter