Delany’s six-laden 88 powers Ireland to 177 for 3

Ireland batter Gareth Delany smashed an unbeaten 88 to help his side to a challenging 177 for three against Bangladesh in their second and final official T20 World Cup warm-up game at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi today.  

Electing to bat, Ireland got off to a blistering start with opener Paul Stirling striking pacer Taskin Ahmed for two consecutive boundaries in the very first over. 

Stirling was looking ominous as he welcomed left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed with three boundaries on the trot in the fourth over. However, the right-hander was castled by Nasum in the same over as he had to return after a 16-ball 22, featuring five boundaries. 

Taskin removed Ireland skipper Andrew Balbirnie (25 off 22) and George Dockrell (9 off 9) in his back-to-back overs, reducing Ireland to 78 for three after 9.4 overs. 

However, Ireland accelerated from that point onward with Delany going completely belligerent as he smashed a total of eight sixes and three boundaries during his 50-ball carnage. 

Delany, who smashed Bangladesh ace left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman for three sixes and a four, starred in a 99-run unbeaten stand with Harry Tector, who also remained unbeaten for a run-a-ball 23. 

Taskin remained the Tigers' pick of the bowlers, picking two wickets by giving away 26 runs in his four overs while the likes of Mustafizur, Nasum and Shoriful Islam all conceded runs more than 10 an over.