ICC T20 World Cup: Australia score 179/5 against Ireland
A 63-run knock by skipper Aaron Finch powered Australia to 179/5 against Ireland in the ICC T20 World Cup Super 12 encounter at The Gabba. All-rounder Marcus Stoinis too contributed with a quickfire 35. Finch and Stoinis shared a 70-run stand. Meanwhile, Tim David and Matthew Wade handed Australia a solid finish. For Ireland, Barry McCarthy and Joshua Little took five wickets between them.
Australia manage 38/1 in the Powerplay
Australia had a sluggish start after Ireland elected to field. The Men in Yellow lost opener David Warner in the third over. Right-arm seamer Barry McCarthy outfoxed the star Australian batter with a good-length ball. Although skipper Finch and Mitchell Marsh controlled the damage, Australia's run-rate got impacted. Australia scored just 38/1 in the first six overs.
Another failure for Warner
Warner suffered his fourth consecutive failure in T20I cricket. His last four scores in the format read as 4(11) vs England, 5(6) vs New Zealand, 11(10) vs Sri Lanka, and 3(7) vs Ireland.
26 runs in an over!
Ireland kept Australia batters at bay in the middle overs. Stoinis and Finch came into the act in the 15h over. Mark Adair conceded as many as 26 runs in that over. Stoinis slammed a couple of fours, while Finch hammered a four and a six each. Adair bowled a total of five wides in that over.
Finch slams his 19th T20I half-century
Finch, who has been under the scanner for his strike rate, duly accelerated in the middle overs. He raced to his half-century off 38 balls. Finch now has 19 half-centuries in T20I cricket (21 fifty-plus scores). In the process, he touched the 3,100-run mark in the format. Finch is the first Australian to get to the mark. He departed in the 17th over (63).
Third-most sixes in T20I cricket
Finch now has the third-most sixes in T20I cricket (125). He overtook West Indies' Chris Gayle, who hammered 124 maximums. India's Rohit Sharma (182) and New Zealand's (173) Martin Guptill occupy the top two spots.
McCarthy picks a three-fer
Barry McCarthy was the pick of Ireland's bowlers in the match. He dismissed Warner and Marsh inside the first 10 overs. McCarthy returned to dismiss the Australian skipper later on. The former registered figures of 3/29 in four overs. Left-arm seamer Joshua Little was also impressive in his four-over spell. He took two wickets for just 21 runs.
