Irish bowlers save batting blushes

Excellent bowling compensated for another horrible batting collapse to give Ireland a third win in four matches at the Oman Pentangular Tournament. Mark Adair and George Dockrell each took three wickets and Gareth Delany two as Ireland fought back to defend an under-par 145-8 and claim victory by 13 runs.

Victory for Oman in yesterday's second match, however -they bowled out Netherlands for 94 with leg spinner Khawar Ali taking a hat-trick with his first balls - means that Ireland cannot win the tournament when the other four teams complete their matches.

Ireland enjoyed another fast start, reaching 87-1 at halfway - exactly matching their total at the same stage against Hong Kong on Monday. Then they totalled 208-5 but in this match they lost seven wickets for 29 and it was Stuart Thompson, with 18 in the last over, including two sixes, which was to win the match. After two balls of the last over of the Oman innings, it looked as if Karen KC would repeat his heroics in the hosts' victory over Netherlands on Monday but after hitting Mark Adair for a six and a four, his attempt at a third boundary landed in the safe hands of Harry Tector at long-on.

Tector had already taken the catch of the day, diving in from the mid-wicket boundary, but in a superb fielding display he was run close for that honour by Simi Singh and Gary Wilson, the skipper dismissing top scorer Aarif Sheikh after a run-a-ball 26. Dockrell, who replaced Lorcan Tucker in the only change from Monday's winning line-up, had a good day, conceding just one boundary in his last over and looks a safe bet for the second spinner's role behind Delany who was demoted to No.7 in the batting order yesterday but was part of the collapse, albeit to the best catch of the innings.

Kevin O'Brien, in his 350th game for Ireland, was out in the second over but Paul Stirling, with his 19th T20I half-century and Andrew Balbirnie added 88 in 59 balls for the second wicket.