Ireland (160/6) beat USA (96, 18.0 overs) by 64 runs
BOYD RANKIN WAS the star of the show as Ireland’s cricketers kept their World T20 qualification hopes alive with an important win against the USA in Dubai.
Chasing Ireland’s total of 160, America were bowled all-out for 96 with Rankin shredding the American batting order with four wickets for just nine runs.
Ireland won the toss and chose to bat but were dealt an early blow when captain William Porterfield fell on the fourth ball of the innings.
America’s Elmore Hutchinson did further damage when he took the wickets of Paul Stirling and Alex Cusack with successive deliveries in the fifth over before Ed Joyce and Kevin O’Brien formed a solid mid-innings partnership which steadied Ireland’s course.
Joyce and O’Brien posted a combined 86 runs before the latter was caught and bowled for 47 by Indian-born Abhimanyu Rajp, who also dismissed Joyce two overs later before Wilson and Mooney saw out the innings to leave Ireland on 160.
America’s challenge was swiftly curtailed when the Irish attack dismissed their first five batsman for just 36 runs. Despite Hutchinson’s best efforts to keep them afloat with an individual 29, Alex White clean bowled him with the final ball of the 18th over to leave them all out for 96.
Ireland stay in second place in Group B thanks to their superior run rate over Scotland, two points behind group leaders Namibia.
