Ellis, Zampa condemn Ireland to crushing defeat

Four-wicket hauls from Nathan Ellis (4 for 12) and Adam Zampa (4 for 23) guided Australia to a comfortable 67-run victory against Ireland in their T20 World Cup opener in Colombo. Despite none of their batters reaching a fifty, Australia posted 182 for 6 at the R Premadasa Stadium, before bowling out Ireland for 115. It was Travis Head's first win as T20I captain for Australia.

Ireland were dealt an early blow in the chase as captain Paul Stirling walked off after facing only one delivery with a suspected hamstring injury. Ross Adair started positively with a four and a six, but Harry Tector fell for a duck.

Nathan Ellis struck with his first delivery, a slower ball that clean bowled Ross Adair. He struck again two balls later to remove Curtis Campher, and soon after had Benjamin Calitz chopping on, leaving Ireland reeling at 27 for 4. Gareth Delany fell to Zampa in the seventh over, but George Dockrell (41) and Lorcan Tucker (24) offered resistance with a 46-run stand.

Tucker fell to Zampa attempting to clear mid-wicket, before the leg-spinner dismissed Dockrell and Mark Adair in his final over. Ellis sealed the match with another slower ball to dismiss Barry McCarthy.

Earlier, Travis Head was run out for six, but Josh Inglis and Cameron Green provided a strong PowerPlay start, hitting boundaries regularly. Green fell off the last ball of the fifth over, and Dockrell removed Inglis in the next. Glenn Maxwell was dismissed caught behind by part-timer Harry Tector, leaving Australia at 90 for 4 after 10 overs. Ireland then conceded only 19 runs from overs 13 to 15.

With boundaries hard to find, Australia ran aggressively between the wickets in the death overs. Marcus Stoinis (45) and Matt Renshaw (37) added a crucial 61-run partnership off 44 balls. Quick cameos from Xavier Bartlett and Cooper Connolly in the final overs pushed Australia to a competitive total on a two-paced pitch.

Brief Scores: Australia 182/6 in 20 overs (Marcus Stoinis 45, Josh Inglis 37) beat Ireland 115 in 16.5 overs (George Dockrell 41, Lorcan Tucker 24; Nathan Ellis 4-12, Adam Zampa 4-23) by 67 runs.