Ireland sent debutants UAE crashing out of the World Twenty20 on Wednesday winning the Group B match in Sylhet by the Duckwoth Lewis method.
The Irish, who opted to bowl after winning the toss, restricted their opponents to 123-6 in 20 overs before reaching 103-3 in 14.2 overs when two power failures and then rain stopped play.
Ireland were declared the winners by 21 runs using the Duckworth Lewis formula.
It was Ireland’s second win on the trot and a second successive defeat for UAE means they are now eliminated from the tournament.
UAE captain Khurram Khan conceded they did not put up a competitive total. “On this wicket, the score was below par, to be honest.
“If you look at the previous games, 140-150 has been regularly achieved here. So yeah, we were 25-30 runs short on this wicket because of the last finishing overs. We did not score much in the last few overs. In the last two-three games, that has been happening every time.”
UAE’s innings was largely hit or miss, playing out several dot balls in a quest for boundaries, and there were nearly eight overs worth of scoreless deliveries.
“Let us not take any credit from them [Ireland’s bowlers],” said Khan. “They bowled very well, in very good areas. We were looking to get boundaries. The batsmen who were batting at that stage did not try to get singles. It does not mean you cannot get a boundary also. So it was a mixof both – we tried to get boundaries and did not concentrate on singles at that stage.
“There were a couple of times when we sent a guy in with the message that if you are not getting boundaries, at least keep getting the runs, rotate the strike, and in between, you will get the boundary.
“I think that was the difference in the end. We could not get boundaries in the last-four five overs, not enough boundaries to put pressure on the opponents.”
Khan indicated the team will benefit from the experience of playing in a world-class tournament and it should stand them in good stead for the 2015 World Cup.
“Exposure is definitely going to help a lot,” he said. “The teams that we are playing at the world stage, we have not been exposed to such a stage. So obviously, we are going to learn a lot from here and that is what we are doing.
“We already tried working hard since we came from New Zealand [after qualifying for the 50-over World Cup]. There wasn’t enough time to prepare for this tournament, but hopefully we will go back and start working hard for the next one.”
Ireland lost their opener Paul Stirling, who hit a brilliant 60 in his team’s three-wicket win over Zimbabwe on Monday, for just eight but quickly rallied.
Ed Joyce top-scored with 43 while skipper William Porterfield made 33 not out.
Ireland’s bowlers, led by spinner Paul Stirling (2-12) and paceman Kevin O’Brien (2-17) kept it tight, preventing any UAE batsmen from hitting a big innings despite a soild 35-run start in five overs.
Once opener Amjad Ali fell for 20, it all went wrong for the UAE. Shaiman Anwar top-scored with a 28-ball 30 which included two sixes but the total always looked well short on a good batting pitch.
Elsewhere in Group B, skipper Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza kept Zimbabwe’s hopes alive with a hard-fought five-wicket win over the Netherlands.
Taylor hit a solid 39-ball 49 while Masakadza scored 43 off 45 balls to help Zimbabwe pass their 141-run target with a six off the last ball.
When Taylor was dismissed after hitting two fours and a six, 15 runs were needed off the last 11 balls.
When the last over began, seven was still needed but Sean Williams hit a lucky boundary and then ran himself out for 26 with the scores tied.
But Vusi Sibanda hit paceman Ahsan Malik for a huge six to give Zimbabwe victory. The Dutch also have one win from two games and are still in with a chance of progressing.
Taylor believed there was still plenty of room for improvement.
“We committed very basic errors on the boundary which cost us 10-15 runs,” he said. “It wasn’t good enough for a professional outfit.”
The Netherlands, who won the toss and batted, were lifted from a precarious 19-3 to 140-5 by a fighting 58-ball 72 not out from Tom Cooper, including nine fours and a six.
Cooper added an invaluable 52 for the fifth wicket with brother Ben Cooper (20) after spinner Prosper Utseya (2-24) had dismissed opener Stefan Myburgh for a duck off the third ball of the innings.
Zimbabwe face UAE in their final group match on Friday while the Netherlands take on leaders Ireland on the same day.
The top two teams in both Group A and B will join the eight seeds in the Super 10, starting from Friday.
