Australia cruised to a 67-run victory over Ireland in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign opener at the R Premadasa Cricket Stadium, Colombo, on Wednesday.
Set to chase a challenging target of 183, Ireland’s reply quickly fell apart. Opener Paul Stirling retired in pain after facing just one ball and the top order quickly collapsed under intense Australian pressure.
Nathan Ellis struck early, removing Ross Adair for 12 and Curtis Campher for four in quick succession, while Matthew Kuhnemann stood in for Harry Tector, leaving Ireland reeling inside the powerplay.
Lorcan Tucker tried to rebuild with 24 from 27 balls and George Dockrell provided late resistance with a fighting 41 off 29 deliveries that included three fours and two sixes.
However, Adam Zampa’s leg-spin proved too strong as he sliced through the middle and lower order, dismissing Tucker, Dockrell and Mark Adair in a decisive spell.
Ellis returned to finish the job, finishing with excellent figures of 4 for 12 in 3.5 overs as Ireland were bowled out for 115 in 16.5 overs.
Earlier, Australia had laid the platform with an aggressive batting performance to post 182 for 6.
The innings suffered an early setback when captain Travis Head was run out for six, but Josh Inglis counter-attacked brilliantly, hammering 37 from just 17 balls with six boundaries and a six. Cameron Green kept the momentum alive with a quickfire 21 off 11.
Matt Renshaw anchored the middle phase with a composed 37 off 33 deliveries, while Marcus Stoinis provided the late surge, blasting 45 off 29 balls. Helpful unbeaten cameos from Cooper Connolly and Xavier Bartlett ensured Australia finished strongly with a run rate above nine.
Ireland’s bowlers found little control on a good batting surface. Mark Adair picked up two wickets but conceded 44 runs, while Humphreys, Dockrell and Tector went a long way without being able to stop Australia’s scoring flow.
