2016 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, Match 8: Bangladesh vs Ireland – As it happened...

SCORECARD

---

Match abandoned. Thus, Ireland joined the Netherlands as the two teams so far to be eliminated from the tournament.

---

Over 8 || Score 94/2

Sanity is back in Dharamsala. In the last two overs, Ireland have taken two wickets, in the forms of both the Bangladesh openers.

But many would assumed that Tamim Iqbal (47 off 26) and Souyma Sarkar (20 off 13) have done enough damage.

Then, rain stops play. Pity!

---

Over 4 || Score 52/0

It was rain, now it's runs. Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal (23 off 12) and Souyma Sarkar (20 off 11) have toyed Ireland attack.

The run-rate is 13. What a treat for those who have braved the rain.

---

Finally. Match is on. Ireland won the toss and invited Bangladesh to bat first. It's a 12-overs a side match.

---

But then again, rain started pouring again. If the situation doesn't improve, the match is as good as abandoned.

---

Latest update from Dharamsala: Toss will be at 9 PM, the start at 9.15 PM. The match will be a 13-overs a side.

---

FULL COVERAGE

As expected, the start of the match is delayed by rain.

In between, the Netherlands cricket team have crashed out of the tournament after their second match, against Oman, was abandoned without a ball being ball thanks to persistent rain.

If this match is also washed out, then Bangladesh and Oman will fight out for the lone qualifier spot from the group.

Yes, in that case, Ireland joined Netherlands in elimination.

---

SQUADS:

Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Shakib Al Hasan, Abu Hider, Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun,Mushfiqur Rahim,Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Sabbir Rahman,Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.

---

Ireland: William Porterfield (C), Andy Balbirnie, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O' Brien, Niall O'Brien, Andrew Poynter, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.

---

PREVIEW: After winning their opening match against the Netherlands, Asia Cup finalist Bangladesh will need a win today against Ireland to enhance their chance for qualifying in the tournament proper.

For Ireland, this is a must win game after losing to Oman. A defeat today will effectively end their hopes for making it to the Super 10 stage.

Bangladesh, by status and also form, are the strongest team in the qualifiers. And they will start as the favourites against Ireland, who are still in the process making it to the big league. In contrary, the Bangla Tigers have earned themselves the reputation of a tough teams, even for the big boys.

However, the match at Dharamsala will be a no holds barred encounter between two hugely talented outfits, in their bid to make a name for themselves.

And once again, it will be a clash between Bangladesh's solid looking batting line-up against a relatively inexperienced Irish bowling attack. Also, it's already a well known fact that Bangladesh carry a disciplined pace attack, probably one of the best around.

It will be a huge task for Irish batsman to counter Bangladeshi pace attack, and also the spinners.

A win for Bangladesh will meant that the Mashrafe Mortaza-led side taking pole position in the Group A, while a victory for Ireland will get themselves ahead of the Netherlands -- who have lost their first match and the second match against Oman was washed out.

How well Ireland perform today will depend lot more on their skipper William Porterfield, the O' Brien brothers and Paul Stirling.

For Bangladesh, it will be business as usual. That's the advantage of entering the qualifiers after a big tournament like Asia Cup.

---

Live scorecard of the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 qualifying match between Bangladesh and Ireland, being played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala.