91Èȱ¬

Ireland beat Oman by 44 runs in their final Pool B game at the ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers in Abu Dhabi.

Batting first after winning the toss, Ireland made 160-5 off their 20 overs.

Gary Wilson top-scored with 52, with Paul Stirling contributing 35 and Kevin O'Brien 32. Rajeshkumar Ranpura and Zeeshan Siddiqui took two wickets each.

Oman scored 116-6 in reply, with Jatinder Singh scoring 56. O'Brien and Max Sorensen both took two wickets, and Boyd Rankin and Nigel Jones one each.

Ireland finished second in their group, behind Namibia, and will now face Canada on Thursday in the first of three back-to-back matches to qualify for the finals in Sri Lanka in September.

If Ireland beat Canada they will then play the winners of the game between Scotland and the Netherlands in the Elimination Final on Friday.

A victory for the Irish would set up a clash against the losers of Thursday's afternoon's match between the two group winners, Namibia and Afghanistan, to determine the second and final place in Sri Lanka, alongside the other 10 competing nations.

Ireland had already booked their place in the play-off stages following their win over Uganda on Monday.

In Tuesday's match against Oman, Wilson scored his runs off just 38 balls, including three sixes and two fours, while Stirling hit his 35 off 29 balls.

Sorensen ended with figures of 2-20 and O'Brien 2-29.

Wilson was pleased with his batting performance.

"It was nice to get a half-century and feels like I am hitting the ball nicely and hopefully that form will continue into the knockout stages," said the Surrey player.

"With the loss of John Mooney for the tournament and Alex Cusack for today's game, it meant that Nigel Jones and Kevin O'Brien who don't normally bowl as much are going to have more of a chance.

"It shows what depth we've got in the team."

Ireland's ICC World Twenty20 qualification Pool B fixtures

Tuesday 13 March - Ireland lost to Namibia by four runs

Wednesday 14 March - Ireland beat Kenya by 10 wickets

Thursday 15 March - Ireland beat Italy by two wickets

Friday 16 March - Ireland beat United States by 64 runs

Sunday 18 March - Ireland beat Scotland by 17 runs

Monday 19 March - Ireland beat Uganda by 82 runs

Tuesday 20 March - Ireland beat Oman by 44 runs