Finch regains form, Australia beat Ireland to stay in semis hunt

After their 42-run win against Ireland, holders and hosts Australia are locked in a three-way battle with England and New Zealand for a place in the last four

He advanced down the track to the swinging ball, batted deep inside the crease to some. Surviving close run-out attempts, indulging in Glenn Maxwell-styled switch-hits, huffing and puffing during his stay, Australia skipper Aaron Finch somehow fought his way back to form.

Aaron Finch hits a boundary during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Australia and Ireland, in Brisbane. (AP)

This T20 World Cup so far hasn’t been great for captains. But the home side would like to like to think Finch’s 63 (44 b, 5x4, 3x6) in their 42-run victory over Ireland at the Gabba on Monday would have got their captain going and given the impetus to the campaign of the defending champions.

There’s also a hamstring injury Finch has to tend to in the next few days. Scan reports are awaited to see if he would be able to take the field against Afghanistan on Friday where the hosts would try to push for a last four berth.

Locked in what appears to be a three-way semi-final race with New Zealand and England in Group 1, Australia were able to improve their net run-rate somewhat after the walloping against Kiwis in the tournament opener. Group 1 has been severely affected by rain—England couldn’t complete their match against Ireland (they lost on DLS method) and their face-off against Australia was washed out.

David Warner was dismissed early but Finch was able to stitch two important partnerships—52 (36 balls) with Mitch Marsh for the second wicket and 70 (36b) with Marcus Stoinis for the fourth—to lift the total to 179. Marsh 28 (22b) and Stoinis 35 (25b) were the aggressors but Finch too kept his intent ratio up, fighting through mistimed heaves until he began to middle some big hits.

On a Brisbane surface which was slower than its characteristic self, Australia began their death overs acceleration early, smashing 87 runs in the final seven overs. For Ireland, Barry McCarthy (4-0-29-3) was the pick of the bowlers, his acrobatic save on the long-on boundary preventing a Stoinis six being one of the highlights. Left-arm seamer Josh Little (4-0-21-2) and the spinners also kept the Australia batters in check.

Australia rocked Ireland with five early wickets. Pat Cummins got one to shape into skipper Andy Balbirnie that crashed into his stumps. Maxwell’s off-spin resulted in two soft dismissals in the third over. When Mitchell Starc sent down two swinging thunderbolts the next over, Ireland were reduced to 25/5 after four overs.

At that stage, Australia would have harboured hopes of improving their net run-rate significantly, but Lorcan Tucker had other ideas. The keeper-batter walked in at No 3 and remained unbeaten on 71 (48b, 9x4, 1x6). Some of his lusty blows towards the end, particularly the ninth wicket partnership (33 off 18 balls) with McCarthy brought the margin down. Adam Zampa delivered another impressive performance (2/19), but the pacers leaked too many runs in the end that could potentially prove critical after the group stage.

Other than Finch, Australia would be sweating over Tim David’s fitness—Finch left the field midway through Ireland’s chase handing over captaincy to Matthew Wade, while David did not take the field as a precautionary measure, to protect his hamstring.