UAE, Ireland seal T20 World Cup spots

The United Arab Emirates and Ireland qualified for the men’s Twenty20 World Cup by winning their semi-finals in the qualifying tournament in Oman yesterday.  

 UAE ended the three-match winning run of Nepal with a 68-run victory to qualify for the T20 World Cup for the second time, while Ireland defeated Oman by 56 runs and will make their seventh appearance at the global showpiece event.  

 The T20 World Cup is set to be held from Oct. 16 to Nov. 13 across seven cities in Australia. The tournament was scheduled to take place Down Under in late 2020 but was postponed for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

 Australia are set to defend the title on home soil after winning the 2021 edition by beating neighbours New Zealand in the final.  UAE and Ireland took the 13th and 14th spots for the T20 World Cup, with the last two places to be decided at the second qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in July.  

 The winners of Thursday’s final between UAE and Ireland in the qualifiers will secure a place in Group 1 of the first round at the World Cup. They will join Sri Lanka and Namibia with the fourth team to be decided after the second qualifiers. 

- REUTERS