T20 World Cup, Australia beat Ireland in Brisbane: Key stats
Australia claimed their second consecutive win in the ICC T20 World Cup on Monday. The Aussies beat Ireland, defending 179 in the Super 12 encounter at The Gabba. Skipper Aaron Finch laid the foundation of their win with a 63-run knock. Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins, and Adam Zampa took two wickets each. A brilliant knock by Lorcan Tucker (71*) went in vain.
How did the match pan out?
Australia had a sluggish start after Ireland elected to field. Opener David Warner departed in the third over. Mitchell Marsh and Maxwell couldn't capitalize, while Finch and Stoinis added 70 runs together. Tim David and Matthew Wade handed Australia a solid finish (179/5). Ireland were reduced to 25/5 in the run-chase. Although Lorcan Tucker held one end, he couldn't get Ireland home (137).
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.
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 T20I sixes
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 on this list. The likes of Eoin Morgan (120) and Virat Kohli (115) follow Gayle in terms of sixes in the shortest format.
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.
AUS 2-0 IRE
Australia now have a 2-0 win-loss record against Ireland in T20I cricket. The two sides also met in the 2012 T20 WC in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Chasing 124, the Aussies recorded a seven-wicket win, crossing the line in 15.1 overs. Shane Watson took a three-fer besides scoring a 30-ball 51 in the game. He thus was adjudged the Player of the Match.
