The journey of former champion Australia in the T20 World Cup 2026 has finally ended. To save their place in Group B, Australia was waiting for the result of the match played between Ireland and Zimbabwe, but rain dashed their hopes. This match in Pallekele was canceled and with this it was decided that the Australian team would be out of the tournament.

Although this result was not directly in the hands of captain Mitchell Marsh’s team, but the defeat in the initial matches put them in this situation. Australia started with a win in their first match, but subsequent defeats against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka made their path difficult.

Steve Smith was called in the team, but not played

A decision of the Australian team management is now the most discussed. The team had called experienced batsman Steve Smith from Australia before the important match against Sri Lanka. He was included in the team in place of injured fast bowler Josh Hazlewood.

But the surprising thing was that despite such an important match, Smith was not given a place in the playing eleven. The team had high expectations from Smith, who performed brilliantly in the Big Bash League 2025-26. He scored 299 runs in 6 matches in the domestic T20 tournament and his strike rate was around 170.

Iceland Cricket roasted on social media

There was a lot of discussion on social media on the decision of not giving Smith a chance. Meanwhile, Iceland Cricket also shared a funny post taunting Australia. He wrote that the best thing for Smith in the T20 World Cup was the duty free shopping at the airport. We could have welcomed them better than this. They would erect a statue of him and give him free cod (fish) for the rest of his life. “Sometimes you forget the best player.”

After this post, fans have also started raising questions on the decision of the Australian team management.

Captain expressed disappointment

After the defeat to Sri Lanka, captain Mitchell Marsh said that the entire team is very disappointed and the emotions are clearly visible in the dressing room. He admitted that the team has not been able to perform its best this time.

After Australia’s early exit, the competition has become even more interesting for the other teams in the tournament. Whereas this season has left many questions for the Kangaroo team – especially regarding team selection.

Raining of fours and sixes on the cricket field is not a new thing. Often fans enter the field, crossing security, just to hug their favorite cricketers. But sometimes such incidents are seen which make everyone burst into laughter. This video from Ireland has created a stir on social media.

This incident took place in a domestic cricket match played in Ireland, in which the dog ran after holding the ball in its mouth. Meanwhile, the commentators also laughed loudly. One fielder even ran to catch the dog so that the ball could be recovered.

Chaos caused by dog

Actually, a domestic women’s cricket match was being played in Ireland. In the video going viral, it can be seen how the fielder threw the ball towards the wicketkeeper. The wicketkeeper had missed running out the batsman. Meanwhile, a dog started running here and there in the field carrying the ball. At last a player from the batting team sat down and stopped and caressed the dog. A boy took the dog out of the field. This entire scene was no less than a comedy film.

Ireland’s domestic cricket video goes viral because of a dog pic.twitter.com/hIXngWIkUy

— Mamta Rajgarh (@rajgarh_mamta1) February 2, 2026

Fans enjoyed

Cricket fans gave very funny reactions to this video on social media. One person wrote that even the dog wants to play cricket, another person wrote that this incident also gave the players a chance to laugh. Some users were surprised as to how the dog entered the field.

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Pakistan will have to change its decision, otherwise it will be banned! No country is getting support; Now ICC will punish

Ireland captain Paul Stirling has added a new chapter in cricket history. In the match played against UAE in Dubai, Sterling played his 160th T20 International match and became the first male cricketer in the world to play the most number of matches in this format. With this record, he left behind India’s legendary batsman Rohit Sharma, who has 159 T20 International matches to his name.

The backbone of the team continuously since 2009 till now

Paul Stirling made his T20 International debut against Pakistan in 2009. Since then, he has been counted among the most reliable batsmen of the Ireland T20 team. Sterling, who plays on the opening slot, is known for his aggressive batting. Scoring runs quickly in the powerplay overs has been his biggest strength, due to which he has given strong starts to Ireland many times.

Also included among the top players in terms of scoring runs

35 year old Sterling has joined the list of top 5 batsmen who have scored the most runs in T20 International cricket. He has scored 3,874 runs in this format. He has one century and 24 half-centuries in his name. Ahead of him in this list are veteran batsmen like Babar Azam, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Babar Azam (Pakistan) – 137 matches, 4453 runs

Rohit Sharma (India) – 159 matches, 4231 runs

Virat Kohli (India) – 125 matches, 4188 runs

Paul Stirling (Ireland) – 160 matches, 3874 runs

Jos Buttler (England) – 144 matches, 3869 runs

Showed strength in franchise cricket also

Sterling’s power-hitting ability has taken him to T20 leagues around the world. He has played in leagues like Pakistan Super League, Bangladesh Premier League, ILT20, SA20 and The Hundred. Although he did not bowl much due to a back injury, his influence in batting is still clearly visible.

Ireland’s strong score against UAE

In the record match, Ireland, batting first, scored 178 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs. The team faltered in the beginning, but the partnership of Lorcan Tucker and Curtis Campher handled the innings. In the end, George Dockrell and Benjamin Calitz added runs quickly to take the team to a respectable score.