An audacious partnership between Curtis Campher and George Dockrell carried Ireland to victory as they reignited their T20 World Cup campaign with a stirring chase in Hobart.
Ireland were well on their way to a second-straight defeat in the tournament as they slipped to 61 for four in pursuit of 177, but their fifth-wicket pair produced a masterclass to turn the tables.
They put on an unbroken 116 in just 57 balls, Campher with a swaggering 72 not out off 32 and Dockrell making an unbeaten 39 in the supporting role.
In the end they made things look easy, wrapping up their six-wicket success with an over to spare, but with high stakes and pressure piling up this was nothing short of remarkable. Both sides now face tense final matches as they seek to seal their spot in the Super 12 stage.
Scotland opted to bat first but faced early strife when George Munsey fell in the second over. Munsey’s unbeaten 66 had underpinned their shock win over the West Indies, but there was no repeat as he played around Mark Adair’s first delivery to fall lbw.
Fellow opener Michael Jones would go on to score a fine 86 – Scotland’s record score of the tournament – but he endured a rocky start, taking eight balls to get off the mark.
Matthew Cross got things moving with three boundaries off Barry McCarthy’s first visit, a sign of things to come for the seamer as he shipped 59 off four ragged overs.
A score of 39 for one from the powerplay still looked light, but Jones was warming up nicely. He pulled McCarthy for the first six of the day, hit hard through the covers and swatted Josh Little for a 98-metre blow over deep square.
Cross fell for 28 as Campher struck with his first ball but Jones progressed to a 38-ball half-century.
Campher and Adair
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