AUS vs IRE T20 World Cup Highlights: Australia blow away Ireland with dominant show; Start campaign with 67-run win

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: Australia will be happy with the fact that they have got 64 runs in the first six overs. They did lose two wickets but that price is acceptable for the momentum they have gained.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: A six and then out!!! Cameron Green goes. Great catch by Dockrell. Australia are two down but they will be happy with the early momentum they have got.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: IN THE AIR AND OUT OF SIGHT!!!!! Full ball at the middle and leg. That was right in Green's arc and he did not spare the ball. Slogged away over the square leg fence for a maximum.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: In the air and taken!!! Inglis goes!! OH WAIT!!!!! The man there had touched the rope with his feet. So, that goes down as a maximum. Ireland is looking sloppy on the field.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: IN THE AIR AND THAT SALES AWAY!!!!! Good length ball at the middle and leg. Green moves away from the line and slogs that away over the square leg fence for a maximum.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score:Travis Head's departure has brought Cameron Green into the middle. Green along with Inglis is trying to stick together a partnership and steady the progress after the early loss of Travis Head.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: A run out. Travis Head goes. Ireland does not have to pay heavily for the chance they dropped in the previous over. The stand-in captain of Australia goes after scoring six runs.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: Calitz drops a catch and it is of Travis Head. Ireland dropped seven catches the other night against Sri Lanka and here they have already one in the first over. That could comeback and haunt Ireland big time later in the game.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: Travis Head hits the first boundary of the match. Humphreys was slightly short on the off stump and Head didn't need a second invitation. He creams it past point for a boundary.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: So, it is time for the live action. Travis Head and Josh Inglis walk out to open the innings for Australia. Matthew Humphreys will start the proceedings for Ireland with the ball.

So, it is time for the national anthems. First we will hear the national anthem of Ireland and it will be followed by the national anthem of Australia.

Glenn Maxwell is playing his 500th T20 match. Travis Head, the stand in captain of Australia for today is playing is 50th T20I.

Australia playing XI: Travis Head (C), Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Matthew Kuhnemann

Ireland playing XI: Paul Stirling (C), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Benjamin Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: The regular Australian skipper, Mitchell Marsh will miss this game. Travis Head, the stand in captain said that March picked up an injury in training and hence will not be playing against Ireland.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: Australia have won the toss and they will bat first.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: Australia's Group B sprint starts today vs Ireland at R. Premadasa Stadium, then they will be back at the same ground on February 13 vs Zimbabwe. Next comes the headline act: February 16 vs Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, before wrapping the group on February 20 vs Oman at Pallekele again.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: The last T20 World Cup in the subcontinent (India, 2016) was a reminder for Australia that pedigree doesn't buy you a semi-final spot. Australia stumbled out of the blocks with tight losses to New Zealand and then India, before steadying with wins over Bangladesh and Pakistan. It still wasn't enough: they finished third in their Super 10 group and watched the knockouts from the sidelines. For Australia, it is the cautionary tale they know too well - in these conditions one misread chase one leaky middle phase can undo an entire campaign.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: The surface at Colombo's R.Premadasa has played on the slower side early in this tournament, with grip and pace-off bowling doing most of the talking once the ball gets older. In the opening game at the venue, the pitch rewarded spin and cutters, and the back end became all about taking pace off rather than trying to hit the deck hard. What's also interesting is the recent trend shift: chasing had been the comfort zone here for a long stretch, but the first game of the tournament went the other way - a reminder that set a total and defend with spin is back on the table if the surface stays dry.

For this game, expect the middle overs to be the decisive phase: spinners on, seamers living on slower balls, and batters needing sweeps, strike-rotation and hard running more than pure muscle.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: This is Australia's first match in the tournament - and with the injury list biting, the spotlight tightens on the core. Mitchell Marsh sets the tone as captain and muscle at the top, while Travis Head is the early accelerator who can break a game in six overs. Behind them, Josh Inglis becomes crucial for pace against spin, and Glenn Maxwell is the chaos button Australia press when the match feels stuck.

Bowling wise, it is Adam Zampa who has to control the middle, with Nathan Ellis likely handling the grimy death overs. With the main quicks missing, the supporting case - Xavier Bartlett and Matt Kuhnemann - suddenly matters a lot.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: Ireland's first match made it clear who their tone-setters are. Harry Tector held the chase together, while Ross Adair gave them early momentum. The engine room looked lively too, with Lorcan Tucker running hard and building a key stand with Tector. With the ball, George Dockrell and Barry McCarthy kept them in the game, while Mark Adair was used his vairations cleverly. That core gives Ireland belief - and give Australia a very specific - hit list.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: Australia and Ireland haven't played often in T20Is, but the pattern is clear: two meetings, two Australian wins. The first came in Colombo in September 2012, where Australia chased comfortably, winning by seven wickets. A decade later, they met again at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Brisbane; and Australia's muscle showed once more - a 42-run win after putting up a big total.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: Ireland's opener was the kind of performance that showed they are here to compete, not just show up. They played with clear intent - smart powerplay choices, calculate aggression, and a proper edge in the field. Even when momentum wobbled, they didn't go into a shell; they kept hunting small wins, over by over, instead of waiting for the game to happen to them.

For Australia, that is the warning horn. This won't be a side gifting soft overs or panicking under heat. Australia need to win the first 4-5 overs convincingly, otherwise Ireland's confidence from match one gives them freedom to swing, steal, and drag this into upset territory.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: Australia's T20 World Cup history is a mix of big expectation and the format's harsh reality checks. They have been around since the earliest edition of the tournament - but for a long time they looked like a heavyweight still adjusting to T20 rhythms - dominant on paper, strangely vulnerable in the squeeze overs and in tricky chases. There were bright spikes like a runners-up finish in 2010 and periodic semi-final pushes, but also campaigns where one bad night exposed their margin for error.

The real pivot came in 2021, when Australia finally nailed the template and won their maiden T20 World Cup title.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: This is the kind of match where Ireland don't need miracles. Australia's injury-hit balance means fewer automatic match-winners, and if Ireland can get past the initial nerves, the game starts breathing. One tight powerplay with the ball, one brave middle-overs phase with the bat, and suddenly Australia are chasing feel rather than a plan.

Australia vs Ireland Live Cricket Score: Australia's build-up has been messy, and it is not just form. They have arrive without their familiar pace big three: Josh Hazlewood is out of the tournament, Pat Cummins hasn't made it after managing a back issue, and Mitchell Starc is no longer in the T20I picture. Add to that a fresh hit to their batting depth, with Tim David set to miss the Ireland game, and suddenly this looks like a very different Australia.