T20 World Cup 2022 Points Table: Updated standings after Zimbabwe vs Ireland Match 4
The fourth match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 was held at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Monday. Zimbabwe beat Ireland by 31 runs in a Group B fixture to kickstart their campaign on a positive note.
After being asked to bat first, Zimbabwe posted 174 on the board, thanks to 82 from Sikandar Raza. The Irish side picked up seven wickets in total, with Joshua Little finishing with three scalps.
Ireland’s batters failed to step up in the chase as they finished their innings on 143/9. Blessing Muzarabani bowled beautifully to pick up three wickets.
With this convincing win, Zimbabwe have grabbed two points to move to second position on the points table in Group B. They now only trail Scotland, who continue to top the table.
Scotland also have two points to their name but have pipped Zimbabwe on the net run rate. The Scottish side has a net run rate of +2.100 as opposed to +1.550 for Zimbabwe. Ireland are placed third in the points table.
Two-time T20 world champions West Indies are reeling at the bottom of the points table in Group B. They suffered a 42-run loss against Scotland in their opening fixture of the T20 World Cup 2022.
Sikandar Raza and Blessing Muzarabani star in Zimbabwe’s convincing win over Ireland
Zimbabwe had a shaky start to their innings but it was once again Sikandar Raza who stepped up and helped them steady the sinking ship. He played beautiful strokes to bring up his fifty. He teed off in the slog overs and departed on the last ball of the innings on 82 off just 48 balls.
Raza's knock helped Zimbabwe post 174 on the board, which they defended successfully, thanks to Blessing Muzarabani, who picked up three wickets in his four overs. Richard Ngarava and Tendai Chatara also chipped in with a couple of scalps to help their side get off to a winning start.
For Ireland, Joshua Little was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 3/24 in his four overs. Mark Adair and Simi Singh scalped two wickets apiece but were expensive.
Chasing 175, Curtis Campher top-scored with 27 but a lack of significant partnerships resulted in them falling short by 31 runs. They now face Scotland in their next fixture and will have to fire in unison to register their first win of the T20 World Cup 2022.