Pallekele, February 17 – The toss for the Group B match between Zimbabwe and Ireland at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium has been delayed due to rain. The ground is covered as it is still drizzling.
"We are in Kandy for our match against Zimbabwe at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The conditions are not ideal. It has been raining throughout the day, and the covers are on. We will update you as soon as we have any news," Cricket Ireland shared on X.
Following a stunning victory over former champions Australia, Zimbabwe will aim to maintain their momentum against a challenging Ireland side and secure their spot in the Super 8s in Pallekele on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe achieved the biggest upset of the tournament so far, defeating former champions Australia by 23 runs. They have won their first two matches and are second in the Group B points table, just below co-hosts Sri Lanka, who defeated Australia by eight wickets to secure their place in the Super Eights.
However, a win by Zimbabwe or a washout will be enough for Zimbabwe to progress to the Super Eights, which will result in the humiliating elimination of the 2021 champions, Australia.
After a 23-run defeat to Zimbabwe, Australia suffered an eight-wicket loss to co-hosts Sri Lanka on Monday, pushing them to the brink of a humiliating exit.
The Mitch Marsh-led side will now be hoping that Ireland can defeat Zimbabwe to keep their slim chances of progressing alive. And if that happens, there is still a lot of work to do, starting with needing a strong win over Oman to boost their Net Run Rate (NRR), and hoping that Sri Lanka beats Zimbabwe well. Then it will come down to the NRR.
Squads:
Ireland Squad: Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (c), Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys, Joshua Little, Craig Young, Benjamin White, Benjamin Calitz, Sam Topping
Zimbabwe Squad: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (w), Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza (c), Dion Myers, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Ben Curran, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa
