Australia skipper Aaron Finch suffered an injury scare when he sustained a hamstring strain while scoring a brilliant fifty on the way to their 42-run victory over Ireland in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Brisbane on Monday, October 31. The Australian skipper slammed a 44-ball 63 but struggled while running between the wickets in the later stages of his knock as Australia posted 179 for 5.
The 35-year-old left the field early during Ireland's chase, which ended at 137 all out in 18.1 overs.
"Really a hammy twinge I think, I will get a scan tomorrow, I have a history of them. It doesn't look bad at the moment but let's see how it goes after the scan," said Finch during the post-match presentation. Singapore-born all-rounder Tim David also spent the entire Ireland innings off the field but Finch said it was 'just a bit of hammy tightness, that was more precaution than anything.'
Finch, who was adjudged the Player-of-the-Match, said it was a difficult track to bat but he was happy that the team could post a good score. "It was a good performance. Getting 180 was a decent score on that wicket. We knew we had to lay the foundation early and couldn't risk being 4-5 down.
"It wasn't the easiest wicket, it was a lot slower than what we expected. They changed their pace really well and bowled a lot of cutters early in the innings, it was hard to get a rhythm and we did well to get 180," he said.
Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie lauded Lorcan Tucker, who fought till the end with an unbeaten 71 off 48 balls but lacked support from the other end.
"The first innings got away, we bowled well but a couple of overs didn't go our way and certainly didn't get the start with the bat, but to show the fight at the end was nice," he said.
"Looking at the scoreboard we thought it wasn't against us, again the wickets column was a problem and who knows if someone had stayed with Tucker. He has had a really good World Cup and these wickets here suit him." By virtue of this win, Australia, with five points from four games, jumped to the second spot in Group 1 ahead of England to be in the reckoning for a semifinal spot. New Zealand is leading the group.
Australia will take on Afghanistan in their last group game on Friday in Adelaide.
