Ireland defeated Netherlands by 7 wickets in the Group A Round 1 clash of the ongoing T20 World Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
This game was nowhere near the mouthwatering one as the previous ones between these two, especially the one in 2014.
Chasing a measly target of 107, Ireland didn’t face any difficulties, thanks to a 59 runs partnership between Paul Stirling (30 off 39) and Gareth Delaney(44 off 29). Brandon Glover, Pieter Seelar and Fred Klassen took 1 wicket each for the dutch.
Earlier, Netherlands won the toss and decided to bat first but couldn’t do justice to their decision. Nobody could step up for them except opener Max O’Dowd with his 51(47). Pieter Seelar’s 21(29) was the only other innings worth mentioning.
Ireland bowlers were brilliant on the other hand. Curtis Campher, who took 4 wickets in 4 deliveries– becoming the 3rd in T20I and first in T20 World Cup history to do so, did the real damage.
Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga and Afghanistan’s leg-spinner Rashid Khan have taken four wickets off four balls in the International Twenty20.
Mark Adair with 3 for only 9 runs and Joshua Little (4-0-14-1, most economic bowling for Ireland in T20Is) were also impressive.
Short score:
Netherlands: 106/10 in 20 overs (Max & David 51, Peter Seeler 21; Curtis Camper 4/26, Mark Adair 3/9).
Ireland: 107/3 in 15.1 overs (Gareth Delaney 44, Paul Sterling 30 *).
Result: Ireland won by 7 wickets.
