Ireland's Tucker Admits Australia "Controlled the Game Nicely" in T20 WC Loss

Chasing 182, Ireland were bowled out for 115 in 16.5 overs as Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa claimed four wickets each to seal a comprehensive win for Australia.

"Yeah, I think we absolutely saw the other day, we felt like we talked about the surface, you know, good experience on this, like Australia. I think we probably didn't start as well as we would have liked. I think the way we set up, we feel like we could target that," Tucker said in the post-match presentation.

"I think they probably got a few more than that, but I think it was just kind of like, like they managed it in the middle period really well against our spinners, and so well. But I think they controlled the game really nicely and set them up to be able to get a bigger score than maybe the par total," he added.

Ireland had earlier conceded 182/6 in their 20 overs after Matthew Renshaw and Marcus Stoinis stitched together a crucial 61-run partnership to rescue Australia from early trouble.

The Irish innings never gained momentum after early wickets left them struggling at 43/5. Tucker and George Dockrell added 46 runs for the sixth wicket, but the chase slipped away quickly.

Despite the setback, Tucker remained optimistic about Ireland's campaign.

"Yeah, like it is tournament cricket. I think there are plenty of things happening. Like we saw today, a couple of super overs in the game and all the other groups. So there's still plenty that can happen. I think we just got to stay confident, stay key, and we're right out of this."

The defeat was compounded by the injury to captain Paul Stirling, who retired hurt after facing just one ball in the chase, having earlier missed the field during Australia's innings.

Reflecting on Stirling's injury, Tucker said, "Yeah, I think he just took a bit of a knock on his knee taking that catch in the first inning. Pretty unfortunate to lose him like that. I know he's obviously brave and tried to go out and see if the second innings got off to a good start, but he wasn't able to, unfortunately. So hopefully we can get that right for the next game."

"Yeah, honestly, it must be disappointing. I think he's had so much success there at the top of the order for us previously. So disappointing, and then I think after that, it seemed to set the train in motion," he added.

After losing two matches in a row, Ireland will now face Oman on February 14 in a do-or-die encounter at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

- IANS