ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Colombo, Feb 14: Left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmed ripped through the top order with a three-wicket burst, but skipper Lorcan Tucker’s blistering 51-ball 94 powered Ireland to a massive 235 for five against Oman in their Group B T20 World Cup match here on Saturday.
Opting to bowl, Oman unleashed spin from the outset, with five of the six Powerplay overs bowled by spinners. The move paid early dividends as Shakeel struck thrice in his three-over spell to reduce Ireland to 47 for 3.
He removed Tim Tector in the opening over before dismissing Ross Adair, who had briefly counterattacked with three fours off Shah Faisal. In the fifth over, Harry Tector also fell to Shakeel as Ireland stumbled.Veteran Aamir Kaleem, the oldest player in the competition at 44, then tightened the screws further by dismissing Curtis Campher.
However, the momentum shifted dramatically once Tucker found his rhythm. The Ireland captain launched a ferocious counterattack, smashing 10 fours and four sixes in a sensational knock.Tucker stitched together a 101-run stand off 56 balls with Gareth Delany (56) to wrest control back. He then added another 70 runs off just 19 deliveries with George Dockrell (35), whose nine-ball cameo included five towering sixes.The assault was relentless. Eighty-six runs came off the final four overs as Oman’s bowlers wilted under sustained pressure.Tucker, who survived a stumping chance earlier in his innings, brought up his half-century off 35 balls with a boundary off Kaleem. Delany matched the aggression, smashing back-to-back sixes off Jiten Ramanandi in a 15th over that yielded 18 runs. He reached his fifty off 28 balls before falling to Shah Faisal in the 17th over.Tucker continued the carnage, plundering three sixes and two fours off Mohammad Nadeem in a 26-run over. (PTI)
Brief Scores
Ireland: 235 for 5 in 20 overs (Lorcan Tucker 94 not out, Gareth Delany 56; Shakeel Ahmed 3/33, Aamir Kaleem 1/29).
Oman: 139 in 18 overs (Aamir Kaleem 50, Hammad Mirza 46; Matthew Humphreys 2/27, Josh Little 3/16). (PTI)
