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World T20 2021: Ireland begin quest in view of stamping authority

The Ireland side has been one of the two sides apart from Afghanistan in world cricket who has been attaining success in the past few years. They were granted the Test status in 2017, are considered to be a decent unit as far as T20 format is concerned and comprise of some brilliant players in the line up.

They will now be battling it out in the World T20 2021 and will play the first match against Netherlands in Abu Dhabi on Monday (October 18, 2021). The Irish team is one of the eight teams who are playing the preliminary round of the tournament. 

The teams have been divided into two groups of four and the top two sides from each group will go into the Super 12s stage. Apart from the Netherlands, their group has Sri Lanka and Namibia as well. 

But moving further, let’s just take a look at Ireland’s recent run in the T20I format. They suffered series defeats against UAE and South Africa respectively earlier this year. 

While Ireland played UAE away from home, their locked horns with the Proteas on the home soil. But they did taste some success after beating Zimbabwe in home fixtures. 

While the form was a bit of concern for them coming into the World T20, the Ireland team would have taken a sigh of relief after clinching victories in the warm-up matches against Bangladesh and PNG. More than the wins, it was about the margins by which they defeated the opponents. 

Ireland thumped PNG by 8 wickets after chasing down a target of 97 with 20 balls to spare and then grabbed a comprehensive 33-run win against Bangladesh after defending a target of 178 quite successfully. 

They had put up an all round show during the practice games and would look to continue the form when the side takes the centre stage. 

Team News

Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie sparked an injury concern after he suffered a toe injury during a game against UAE on October 10. 

Later, the X-ray had ruled out the possibility of any fracture but the team management had begun the intensive training. He in fact scored an unbeaten 42 against PNG on October 12 in the warm-up match. 

Experienced campaigners

The Ireland contingent has some prominent names in the line up who have played a lot of cricket. Paul Stirling, George Dockrell, Andrew Balbirnie, and Kevin O’Brien are some of the names on whom the team would bank upon. Ireland have been known for causing some major upsets in big tournaments. 

They defeated Pakistan and Bangladesh in 2007 ODI World Cup, no one can really forget that knock from Kevin that he unleashed against England in the 2011 ODI World Cup and stole away a win from the jaws of defeat from his side. 

Later, in the 2015 edition of 50-over World Cup, they achieved a win against West Indies. While they have left a mark in ODI World Cups, Ireland are still looking to stamp authority in World T20. In fact, Kevin O’Brien admitted that the side needs to win games in the World T20. 

“We've had a lot more success and our big victories have been in the 50-over tournament," he had said. 

"But you look back at when we beat Bangladesh in 2009 at Trent Bridge you have still had victories at T20, but lately the ones that stand out are the results we have been on the wrong side of,” he added. 

So with a lot of experience under their belt and a hunger to prove themselves in World T20s, Ireland would be looking to take the field.

Blessing in disguise

It is generally said that an individual shouldn’t really be a “jack of all trades but master of none”. But for Ireland, this could very well work as they have a bunch of players who can make vital and valuable contributions with both bat and ball. 

Moreover, the amount of all-rounders brings a lot to the table for them. Apart from this, the Irish unit has a number of spinners and medium pacers and considering the venues where the team will play in Abu Dhabi and UAE, they might extract something from the track. 

Full Squad: Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

Reserve players: Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Barry McCarthy 

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Netherland's road to World Cup 2021 The road that the Netherlands unit has travelled through to get to the World Cup has been an equally eventful one as ahs their journey in World Cups been. While they won five games in the World Cup Qualifier 2019 and lost only to Papua New Guinea, whom they beat eventually in the final to win the entire tournament in UAE in 2019. But due to their loss to PNG, the Dutch had to play a Playoffs Semi-Final against UAE, which they win with much ease by nine wickets. In the semi-final, they beat Ireland to book a date with PNG and then win against them to settle scores. It is what happened post Qualifier with the Dutch side that has kept them going, coming into this World Cup. Post the Qualifiers, the Dutch lost twice against Nepal while beating them once in their home and tied one and won one against Malaysia at the same venue. Post that the Orange brigade was involved in two ODIs against Scotland and three against Ireland as part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. They lost one against Scotland but won the series 2-1 against Ireland, their biggest ODI series win to date. It is with this confidence and the confidence of its players such as Fred Klaasen, Paul van Meekran, Logan van Beek and Tim van der Gugten who played in big leagues such as T20 Blast, Caribbean Premier League and The Hundred, that the Dutch team came in this World Cup with. In the Warm-up games, though they have lost one to Scotland, their performance against Oman and New Zealand was comprehensive, although they lost to New Zealand by only four runs. Amalgamation of youth and experience: Netherland's flex The best part about this team is that this is probably the best set of cricketers that the Netherlands have got in recent time or probably in the entire history of their game. While the likes of Pieter Seelaar, Roelof van der Merwe and Rayn Ten Doeschate have been in the business for almost two decades now, the youngsters such as Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Fred Klaasen. Paul van Meekeren and Tim van der Gugten have had the exposure that was previously unseen and unheard of in Dutch cricket. All these players have been regulars at County, T20 Blast and now even The Hundred and therefore come in with a lot of T20 experience. In terms of runs and wickets, O’Dowd has to his kitty more than 1000 T20I runs and has the only century for a Dutchman in T20Is to his name as well. Only Australia born Ben Cooper has more T20I runs than O’Dowd in the Netherlands squad. If Cooper and O’Dowd are top run-getters, skipper Seelaar and van Meekeren are the leading wicket-takers in T20 cricket for the Dutch side with 57 and 47 wickets respectively. 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The words of Campbell could come true, but only if the potential is utilised on the given day, starting with the team’s toughest game against Ireland. Can they do it? For the Netherlands to qualify, the equation is pretty simple, win at least two games and make sure that the net run rate is at a good place. With the kind of form, they have been in the Netherlands can also win three games and has the capability of beating Sri Lanka as well, especially with the kind of side that Sri Lanka currently is. Hence as far as the question about whether or not can they get into Super 12, the answer should be yes. Netherlands T20 World Cup Squad Pieter Seelaar (c), Colin Ackermann, Philippe Boissevain, Ben Cooper, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards, Brandon Glover, Fred Klaassen, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren Netherlands T20 World Cup fixtures 18 Oct - Netherlands v Ireland 20 Oct – Netherlands v Namibia 22 Oct – Netherlands v Sri Lanka

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