Pallekele, Feb 17 (IANS) The toss for the Group B clash between Zimbabwe and Ireland here at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium has been delayed because of rain. The ground is under covers, as it is still drizzling.

“We’re in Kandy for our match against Zimbabwe at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Conditions are not great. It has been raining much of the day, and the covers are on. We’ll update as soon as we have any news,” Cricket Ireland shared on X.

After a stunning win over former champions Australia, Zimbabwe will look to continue the momentum against a tricky Ireland side and seal their berth in the Super 8s berth in Pallekele on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe scripted the biggest upset of the tournament so far as they defeated former champions Australia by 23 runs. They have won their first two matches and are second on the Group B points table, just below co-hosts Sri Lanka, who defeated Australia by eight wickets to seal their place in the Super Eights.

However, a win by any margin for Zimbabwe or a washout will be enough for Zimbabwe to progress to the Super Eights, which will result in the humiliating elimination of 2021 champions Australia.

After a 23-run defeat to Zimbabwe, Australia crashed to an eight-wicket loss to co-hosts Sri Lanka on Monday to be pushed to the brink of a humiliating exit.

Mitch Marsh-led side will now be praying that Ireland can beat Zimbabwe to keep their slim chances of progressing alive. And if that eventuates, there is still a lot of work to do, starting with needing a strong, NRR-boosting win over Oman and hoping Sri Lanka beats Zimbabwe well. Then it would come down to NRR.

Squads:

Ireland Squad: Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (c), Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys, Joshua Little, Craig Young, Benjamin White, Benjamin Calitz, Sam Topping

Zimbabwe Squad: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (w), Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza (c), Dion Myers, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Ben Curran, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa