Ireland, UAE qualify for 2022 T20 World Cup

Ireland qualified for the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup after defeating Oman by 56 runs at the Al Almerat Stadium while United Arab Emirates (UAE) booked their spot in the showpiece event by beating Nepal by 68 runs in the first semifinal of the Qualifier A tournament.

 Andy McBrine smashed 36 off 21 balls and claimed 2-24 while Simi Singh (3-20) and Josh Little (2-32) played their as Oman were bundled out for 109 while chasing 166.

After being put in to bat by Oman, Ireland lost openers Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling for 19 runs before Gareth Delany (47) and Harry Tector (35) put on 82-run stand in 57 balls. However, the pair were dismissed in quick succession as Ireland stuttered at 105-5 by the 14th over. George Dockrell played a short cameo of 18 from 16 balls  while McBrine clubbed three boundaries and two sixes to help the Irish to a score of 165/7 in 20 overs.

Oman never looked like chasing the target as they lost opener Kashyap Prajapati in the third over with 13 runs on the board and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Captain Zeeshan Maqsood (28) and Shoaib Khan (30) tried to stem the tide but the Irish bowlers kept chipping away wickets.

“I think our determination got us there today," Ireland captain Balbirnie said. "We knew at the start of the week we needed to win three games, and we’ve got better every match – and that’s what you need to do in tournament cricket. Our T20 cricket has been inconsistent, and to win three matches in a row we knew we’d have to be at our best – we managed to do that, and that was probably our best all-round performance," he said.

UAE thump Nepal

In the first semifinal at the same venue, UAE opener Waseem Muhammad scored a superb 70 off 48 balls while keeper-batter Viritya Aravind smashed 46 off 23 balls as they posted 175/7 in 20 overs.

Nepal pacers Jitendra Mukhiya and Abinash Bohara claimed three wickets each but were unable keep the scoring down. Defending a good total, UAE made inroads in the first over when Junaid Siddique sent back opener Aasif Sheikh and one-down batter Lokesh Bam off consecutive deliveries.

Dipendra Singh Airee scored run-a-ball 38 and added 36 runs with Kushal Bhurtel when UAE skipper Ahmed Raza ripped through the middle order and tail. Raza sent back Gyanendra Malla and Airee off consecutive balls in the 13th over before coming back to remove Sandeep Lamichhane and Bibek Yada off the next over.

The UAE skipper completed his fifer with the dismissal of Kamal Singh as Nepal were dismissed for 107 in 18.4 overs.

Ireland face UAE in the final of the 2022 Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier A on Thursday at the Al Almerat Stadium in Muscat.