Oman stun Ireland with two-wicket win

DHARAMSALA:  Minnows Ireland defeated experienced ICC associate Ireland by two wickets in an exciting World Twenty20 first round group A match here at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Wednesday night.

Chasing 155, openers Zeeshan Maqsood (38) and Khawar Ali (34) provided a fine start of 69 and later Jatinder Singh (24) and Aamer Ali (32) gave a boost to their team.

However, Oman completed the sensational victory with two balls remaining when Max Sorensen bowled a noball fulltoss which beat the batsman (Munis Ansari) and also the wicketkeeper (Niall O’Brien) for four byes.

Off-spinner Andy McBrine, pacers Kevin O’Brien and Sorensen claimed two wickets each for Ireland.

Earlier, Ireland made a good start after electing to bat first as their three top-order batsmen took them to 112 in 15 overs but later they failed to maintain the tempo and were restricted to 154 for five.

Openers captain William Porterfield and Paul Stirling scored 29 each while Gary Wilson top-scored with 38.

Oman seamer Munis Ansari captured three wickets for 37.

Debutant Aamer of Oman was declared the Player of the Match at the end of the match.