Balbirnie leads Ireland to easy win over Oman

HALF-CENTURIES by Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling, following three-wicket hauls for Simi Singh and Mark Adair, propelled Ireland to a nine-wicket T20I win over hosts Oman at the Al Amerat Stadium in Muscat yesterday. Captain Balbirnie (below) looked imperious in his Player of the Match performance with his secondhighest T20I knock of his career. His unbeaten 75 came from just 49 balls, and while he was dropped twice, he deserved the plaudits when left the field after hitting the winning runs.

Balbirnie was ably supported by fellow opener Stirling, who hit his 20th T20I half-century on a pitch that played true and allowed the two openers to hit through the line with confidence.

Earlier, Balbirnie won the toss and elected to bowl, with Ireland getting off to a positive start

with Mark Adair (3-25) striking with the third ball of the innings, knocking back Kashyap Prajapati’s middle stump.

Singh snared an incredible 3-9 from his four overs, with Oman’s total of 137 all out looking around 30 to 40 runs below par.The Irish run chase was completed with 17 balls to spare. Ireland face UAE today at the same venue in a crucial two weeks of T20I cricket with a World

Cup spot on the line.