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KANDY, Sri Lanka – Ireland Men’s journey at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup came to an end earlier today when their final Group B game against Zimbabwe was rained-off in Pallekele.

There was much waiting around and looking at the skies at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium with Ireland in particular hoping this fixture would be played for a chance to stay in the tournament.

Ireland’s task was simple. Having lost both opening games but then comprehensively beating Oman in the previous Group B match, they now needed to defeat Zimbabwe by a considerable margin to boost their net run rate. Ireland would also need other results in the group to go their way.

The first part of the permutation that needed to go the right way was for the tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka to beat Australia, which they did yesterday, to keep Irish hopes alive. Because of that result, Australia also needed an Ireland victory in today’s match for a chance to survive further in the tournament, meaning several sets of fans were watching this game with keen interest.

Unfortunately, there was only rain to watch as very wet conditions continued at Pallekele. With occasional respite from the rain keeping hopes alive, Australia and Ireland were both optimistic that a shortened game might be possible, while Zimbabwe knew a rain off would seal their spot in the Super 8 phase.

Wet conditions at the ground, however, continued until after the cut-off time which led to the match being abandoned. The result means Ireland’s time at the 2026 T20 World Cup has come to an end while also confirming that Zimbabwe have qualified for the Super 8 stage of the tournament – quite the comeback after missing out on a spot altogether at the 2024 edition of the tournament.

Chances of Ireland going through to the next stage were always slim, even if today’s match had gone ahead. Nonetheless, supporters’ hopes remained undimmed, especially after some very positive individual performances against Sri Lanka in the opening game of the tournament, albeit in a loss.

There was also much positivity to take from Ireland’s record-breaking win against Oman in their previous game in which they made their highest-ever T20I total (235-5) and the second highest total overall in the history of Men’s T20 World Cups.

During that match, stand-in captain Lorcan Tucker also made the highest score by a captain (94*) in T20 World Cups while left-arm quick Josh Little picked up some form taking 3-16.

Other landmarks passed at the T20 World Cup included 100 T20I caps for Mark Adair as well as 350 caps across formats for George Dockrell.

Despite losses and the weather conditions, the side remained very well supported by their fans throughout their stay at the tournament while in both Colombo and Kandy, but ultimately Ireland will feel it was another opportunity lost as they leave the competition.