A quick-fire half-century by captain Jack Tector helped Ireland make short work of the United States of America in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifiers at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Jack Tector hit seven fours in a 54-ball 60 as Ireland overhauled the 101-run target.
Tector slapped seven fours in a 54-ball 60 as Ireland raced to the 101-run target for the loss of two wickets in 15.4 overs. This was Ireland’s second win in as many matches and it now joins Nepal with four points. Both the sides will be in action on Monday and if they win their respective matches, then they will qualify for the 22 October final with a game against each other in hand.
The winner of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier will progress to the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016, which will be staged in Bangladesh from 22 January to 14 February.
The USA was no match for Ireland when it was bowled out for 100 in 39.3 overs after electing to bat first. Kushal Ganji was the only batsman to bat with some authority while scoring 30 from 70 balls with three fours.
For Ireland, Aaron Gillespie took three for 18, Benjamin White bagged two for 16 and Rory Anders snapped up two for 19.
Ireland hardly sweat in its run-chase and romped home with more than 34 overs and eight wickets to spare.
In the other match of the day, Uganda recorded its first win of the tournament when it defeated Papua New Guinea (PNG) by nine wickets. This was PNG’s second successive defeat, which means it is now out of the competition.
Batting first, PNG was bowled out for 83 in 30.4 overs with off-spinner Frank Akankwasa returning figures of three for 15 and Abdalah Lubega taking two for 14.
In turn, Uganda achieved victory on 13.2 overs with opener Zephania Arinaitwe clobbering seven fours and three sixes in a 37-ball 59.
“Our performance was good. We played to our best,” said Frank Akankwasa. “We were fighting and we took all our catches. We deserved this win.
“We can still qualify, so we need to win tomorrow’s game against Thailand and we’ll see what comes next.”
Ireland beats USA by eight wickets at Royal Selangor Club
USA 100 all out, 39.3 overs (Kushal Ganji 30; Aaron Gillespie 3-18, Benjamin White 2-16, Rory Anders 2-19)
Ireland 101-2, 15.4 overs (Jack Tector 60, M Buch 2-9)
Uganda beats PNG by nine wickets at Kinrara Oval
PNG 83 all out, 30.4 overs (Frank Akankwasa 3-15, Abdalah Lubega 2-14)
Uganda 84-1, 13.2 overs (Zephania Arinaitwe 59)