Ireland fall to Oman defeat in T20 test

The UAE, rapidly becoming Ireland's bogey team, have beaten Ireland by 13-runs at the Al Almerat Stadium in Muscat today.

Needing 179 for victory, the Irish batters started with positive intent – despite losing talisman Paul Stirling in the first over, run out in a mix-up with skipper Andrew Balbirnie.

Gareth Delany’s 40 from 20 balls and Balbirnie’s 42 from 27 balls gave the top order the required momentum, however, a familiar tale then ensued with the middle order failing to find the boundary regularly and an increasing run rate required mounting pressure on each incoming batter.

Despite being 67-2 after the powerplay, Ireland’s scoring rate dropped noticeably over the next six overs thanks in large part to the spin of Palaniapan Meiyappan (2-23) and Ahmed Raza (0-25) who put the brakes on with accurate bowling and variations of pace.

Lorcan Tucker sparkled briefly for his 22 from 16 balls, and Curtis Campher played a steady hand for his 40, but the middle order could not lift the rate when required and the Men in Green fell 13 runs short.

Earlier in the day, Andrew Balbirnie won the toss and elected to bowl for the second match in a row, but half-centuries to Rohan Mustafa (54 from 43 balls) and Vriitya Aravind (50 from 36 balls) dominated a UAE innings that featured a mix of flair and luck. The pair featuring in a 94-run, third-wicket partnership during which the runs flowed freely, albeit aided by two dropped catches.

Craig Young’s second spell saw both batters back in the pavilion, but a late cameo innings from Kashif Daud of 28* from 11 balls ensured a strong finish for the UAE – which included taking 23 runs coming from the last Mark Adair over. That last over possibly became the deciding factor by the end of the