By a Staff Reporter
Zimbabwe and Ireland have booked a spot in the Super 12 of ICC T20 World Cup after registering victories in the last day of First Round.
In the first match of Group B held on Friday, Ireland shocked two time champions West Indies. Touted as one of the favorites of the tournament, West Indies went down to Ireland by 9 wickets. Batting first, Windies could muster 146/5 in first innings. Brandon King was the only performer for the West Indies inning with not out 62 runs off 48 deliveries. Gareth Delany took 3 wickets for 16 runs to reduce West Indies.
Ireland then saw experienced opener Paul Stirling play one of his best T20I innings to take Ireland through to the second round. Stirling remained unbeaten in 66 off 48 balls. Ireland reached the target in 18th over losing just a wicket.
Zimbabwe through to Super 12
In the second match, Zimbabwe beat Scotland by 5 wickets to book a spot in Super 12. Zimbabwe restricted Scotland to 132-6 after Tendai Chatara bowled tight spell. George Munsey top scored with 54 runs off 51 balls for the Scots.
Craig Ervine led the chase for Zimbabwe with cautious 58 runs off 54 balls. Zimbabwe completed the chase in 19th over to cap off a superb 2022. This is Zimbabwe’s first ever appearance in the second round of the World T20.
Super 12 to begin from Saturday
With the results, the lineup for Super 12 round has been completed. Group 1 will see Afghanistan, Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand and Sri Lanka fight for top 2 spot. Group 2 comprises of Bangladesh, India, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The winners and runners up will advance to semifinals of the tournament.
Hosts Australia will face New Zealand in the first match of Super 12 on Saturday. England will play Afghanistan in the second match of the day.
