Colombo, Feb 11 : A 61-run partnership between Matthew Renshaw and Marcus Stoinis helped Australia reach 182/6 in 20 overs against Ireland in their first match of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday.

Coming to bat after winning the toss, Australia were off to a bad start as their stand-in captain, Travis Head, was run out on the seventh ball of the innings after a mix-up with his opening partner, Josh Inglis. Head scored just six runs off seven balls he played and hit one four.

After an early wicket, Inglis and Cameron Green played with positive intent and attacked Ireland bowlers fiercely. The duo forged a partnership of 49 runs off just 23 balls before Green was out on the last ball of the fifth over, trying to hit a six against Mark Adair. Green scored 21 runs off just 11 balls and provided momentum to the batting side with two sixes and one four.

Inglis continued the attack by hitting two boundaries in the next two overs but was eventually caught by Paul Stirling at cover in the seventh over. The wicketkeeper batter scored 37 runs off just 17 balls. Inglis also hammered six boundaries and one six.

Australia's experienced all-rounder Glenn Maxwell tried to steer the innings but was dismissed cheaply in the tenth over after edging out against Lorcan Tucker. Maxwell scored just 9 runs in nine balls.

Australia were at 90/4 during the mid-innings interval, and as Ireland were hoping to do more damage, Renshaw and Stoinis forged a 61-run partnership, which was helped by Ireland's sloppy fielding.

The duo adopted a boundary-less approach at the start as they were continuously rotating the strike, putting pressure on the opposition, who were looking for a wicket.

Ireland finally got the breakthrough in the 17th over when Matthew Humphreys clean bowled Renshaw, who departed after scoring 37 runs in 33 balls.

Stoinis, who was dropped by Delany in the next over, continued to attack but missed a well-deserved fifty when he was finally caught by Benjamin Calitz in the 18th over. Stoinis scored 45 runs in just 29 balls and hammered two fours and one six, which guided Australia to a challenging total.

Adair was the most successful bowler for Ireland, as he finished with good figures of 2-44. While Matthew Humphreys, George Dockrell and Harry Tector took one wicket each.

Brief Scores: Australia 182/6 in 20 overs (Marcus Stoinis 45, Matt Renshaw 37; Mark Adair 2-44, Harry Tector 1-24) against Ireland.

/IANS