T20 WC: "Getting 180 was a decent score on that wicket," says Aaron Finch after win over Ireland
Oct 31, 2022
Brisbane [Australia], October 31 : Following the 42-run win over Ireland in the ongoing T20 World Cup, Australia skipper Aaron Finch said that the wicket was not easy to bat on but he is happy with his team's performance as they slammed 180 runs which was a "decent score" for the hosts.
A half-century from captain Aaron Finch followed by fiery bowling from bowlers helped Australia bundle out Ireland for 137 and clinch the 42-run victory in their Group 1, Super 12 match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in Brisbane on Monday.
Lorcan Tucker scored the highest for Ireland with an unbeaten 71 off 48 balls. For Australia Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa bagged two wickets each.
"It was a good performance. Getting 180 was a decent score on that wicket. We knew we had to lay the foundation early and couldn't risk being 4-5 down. Just a little bit of hammy tightness, he (Tim David) sat out as a precaution. It is nice when it works like that (not opening with Starc), doesn't always work but there's a lot of time and planning that goes into it, sometimes you look great and sometimes you look stupid, you take the good with the bad in this format," Finch said in the post-match presentation.
Lorcan Tucker played a brave knock of 71* from 48 deliveries, however, his fighting innings went in vain as Australia claimed a 42-run win.
"It would have been nice, having them 5 for 25 to really push that forward, Tucker played a helluva knock there," he added.
Talking about the match, defending a competitive target of 180, Australia got off to a flying start as the bowlers dismissed both Ireland openers, Paul Stirling and captain Andy Balbirnie cheaply. Balbirnie went back to the pavilion as Pat Cummins delivered a stunning ball to bowl out Ireland's opener while Glenn Maxwell removed star batter Stirling in the third over of the game.
In the same third over Maxwell struck again as he dismissed new batter Harry Tector for 6 off 4. In the 4th over of the game, Mitchell Starc gave a double blow to Ireland as he sent Curtis Campher and George Dockrell packing, leaving Ireland tottering at 25/5. The top order of the Ireland batting order was destroyed within the powerplay.
Lorcan Tucker and Gareth Delany hammered Starc for 14 runs in the 6th over of the innings to ease some pressure from their team. The Irish duo kept piling runs while gathering singles at regular intervals.
However, Delany could not stand long on the ground as he was dismissed by Marcus Stoinis after scoring 14 runs off 10 deliveries. Tucker opened his hands and slammed Starc for 12 runs in the 12th over of the innings.
Adam Zampa then dealt Ireland another blow as he removed Mark Adair for 11 off 11 in the 13th over of the innings. After this Ireland kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The right-handed batter Barry McCarthy then came to bat on the crease.
Tucker brought up his half-century with a 98-metre six on the delivery of Josh Hazlewood in the 16th over of the innings. Tucker continued his aggressive form as he slammed Australian bowlers all around the ground.
Starc delivered a massive over as he conceded 18 runs with Tucker hammering him for three stunning fours. Cummins then delivered a slower short-of-length delivery to remove batter McCarthy for three off 7.
The last batter Joshua Little then came out to bat but could not do much as he was run out by Mitchell Marsh/Maxwell and handed a big 42-run win to Australia.
Earlier, a calculated half-century from captain Aaron Finch and his quickfire partnership with all-rounder Marcus Stoinis powered Australia to a competitive 179/5 in their 20 overs.
