T20 World Cup [Watch]: Nathan Ellis deceptive slower one gets Ross Adair in AUS vs IRE clash

In the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, Australia finally started their campaign against Ireland on February 11 at the R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. They are one of the favorites in the tournament and will have their eyes on the trophy this time. 

Before entering the marquee event, Australia received a huge blow as skipper Mitchell Marsh was ruled out of the first game due to a testicular injury. Instead of him, Travis Head led the team against Ireland. 

Meanwhile, the Aussies won the toss, batted first, and put up 182 runs on the board for Ireland to chase. In the absence of prime bowlers like Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, many had thought that the Australian bowling attack might suffer. 

On the contrary, Nathan Ellis proved everyone wrong with his terrific spell in the ongoing match against Ireland. As we write, the right-arm pace has bowled four overs and has conceded just 12 runs, picking up four wickets. 

Along with Ellis, Adam Zampa bowled brilliantly. In his quota of four overs, he conceded 23 runs and claimed four wickets. These two bowlers wreaked havoc on Ireland's batters, preventing them from settling at all.

Nathan Ellis dismisses Ross Adair, leaving the player in confusion

In the second over of the game, Ellis got his first wicket. Opening batter Ross Adair, who looked extremely confused as he couldn't read the ball, headed back to the pavilion with a faint smile. Ellis tricked him with a slower delivery as Adair tried to play it towards the onside. 

Watch the video here:

However, to his surprise, the ball hits the pads and then the middle-stumps, sending the batter back to the pavilion. After Paul Stirling was retired hurt, Ireland were definitely counting on Adair to stay back and head the run chase. Soon after his dismissal, the batting lineup fell like a pack of cards. Adair was dismissed on 12 off 9 balls. 

Chasing 184 runs, Ireland's batters failed to stitch partnerships, which is where they almost lost the game. While playing against a strong team like Australia, it's always important to spend some time on the crease and understand the bowlers.

George Dockrell did try to save the team down the order, but didn't get the support from the other end. With this loss, Ireland will be almost eliminated from the tournament. 

Brief Scores: Australia 182/6 (Marcus Stoinis 45, Josh Inglis 37, Mark Adair 2/44) vs Ireland 115 (George Dockrell 41, Nathan Ellis 4/12)