Ireland, on 101-3 inside the 14th over chasing 124 for victory, were romping to a convincing win over the United Arab Emirates at Sylhet Divisional Stadium on Wednesday with 23 runs required from 36 balls and seven wickets in hand. The Irish could never have thought that they would have to be content with a 21-run win by the Duckworth/Lewis method but that is exactly what transpired.
Right around 10:10pm local time, floodlights went off for the first time for a duration of nine minutes.
When the lights did come back, only a minute’s play was possible during which Ireland faced two balls and took two runs when the stadium was blackened for the second time. From 10:20pm onwards, the floodlights came on and again switched off for
a number of times before finally starting to work at 10:30pm.
But by then, a storm had interrupted the game which was followed by slight drizzle. After a few moments rain came pouring down forcing the abandonment of the game.
Asked to bat first, UAE had posted 123-6 in their 20 overs.
Having won their opener against Zimbabwe by three wickets on Monday, Ireland will be confident about sealing a Super 10 berth when they take on the Netherlands on Friday and no matter what happens in the final Group B game between Zimbabwe and UAE on the same day, a win for the Irish will be enough for them to go through.
-With New Age input
