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The United States of America will take on Ireland in the second match of the two-game T20I series on Friday, December 24. The Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill, Florida, will host this exciting contest.
Ireland, led by Andrew Balbirnie, didn’t make the best of starts to their T20I series against the USA on Wednesday, December 23, as they went down by 26 runs. Ireland were deemed the favorites to come up trumps, but the home team punched above their weight.
After electing to bat first, the USA racked up a formidable score of 188 for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. The hosts found themselves in all sorts of trouble after being reduced to 16 for four in 4.2 overs. Barry McCarthy wreaked havoc in the USA batting lineup.
However, Sushant Modani and Gajanand Singh put on 110 runs for the fifth wicket to bring the USA back into the game. Singh was the more attacking of the two as he notched 65 runs off 42 balls with the help of three fours and five sixes. The left-hander played at a strike-rate of 154.76.
Modani didn’t flatter to deceive either, having scored 50 runs off 39 balls with three fours and one six. Marty Kain powered his way to an unbeaten 15-ball 39 and guided the USA past the 180-run mark. McCarthy was the pick of the Irish bowlers with four scalps.
Ireland didn’t have the best of starts to their run-chase as Ali Khan got rid of skipper Balbirnie in the second over. Paul Stirling blazed away to a 15-ball 31 before Saurabh Netravalkar rattled his woodwork. From there on, the visiting team had their struggles quite a bit.
Lorcan Tucker scored an unbeaten 49-ball 57, but his efforts went in vain. He played until the very end but didn’t get much support from others.
Netravalkar, Khan and Nisarg Patel picked up two wickets apiece. Kain and Yasir Mohammad couldn’t get a wicket.
Can the USA beat Ireland?
USA, in their first game, defeated their opponents by defying all the odds. It now remains to be seen if they can show the same amount of consistency going forward.
Ireland, on the other hand, need to pull their socks up. Although they are 0-1 down in the series, they have every chance of drawing level.
Prediction: Ireland to win the match.
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