Australia skipper Aaron Finch suffered an injury scare on Monday with a strained hamstring on his way to the fifty that would lead the defending champions to a 42-run win over Ireland in the World T20.
Finch hit a 44-ball 63 but looked to struggle between the wickets in the latter part of his sensational knock as Australia were bowled out for 179 for 5.
The 35-year-old Irish chaser, who also suffered a hamstring injury in 2016, left the field early as he finished with 137 in 18.1 overs.
“It’s amazing really, I think I’ll have a scan tomorrow, I’ve got their history. It’s not bad at the moment but we’ll see how it goes after the scan,” Finch said in the post-match presentation. .
Singapore-born all-rounder Tim David also played all of Ireland’s innings in the off-field, but Finch said that was “just a precaution”.
Finch, who was adjudged the man of the match, said the competition was tough, but he was happy the team was able to score well.
“It was a good game. Getting 180 is a decent score at the wicket. We knew we had to lay the foundation early and we couldn’t risk getting down 4-5.
“It wasn’t the easiest wicket, it was a lot slower than we expected. They changed their pace very well and bowled a lot of cutters early in the innings, it was difficult to get the rhythm, we managed to score 180,” he said.
Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie praised Lorcan Tucker, who battled to the end with an unbeaten 71 off 48 balls but was not supported at the other end.
“The first innings went well, we bowled well but a few overs didn’t go our way and certainly didn’t start with the bat, but it was good to put up a fight at the end,” he said.
“Looking at the scoreboard, we thought it wasn’t against us, there was another issue with the goalpost and who knows if someone stayed with Tucker. He has had a very good World Cup and the wickets here suit him.”
With the win, Australia moved up to second in Group 1 ahead of England to secure a place in the semi-finals with five points from four games. New Zealand leads the group.
Afghanistan will play their final group game in Adelaide on Friday.