Ireland Women will play Zimbabwe tomorrow for a place in the T20 World Cup finals in South Africa next February – and they have the momentum.

While Laura Delany’s side followed up their facile nine wickets victory over USA on Monday with a clinical 19 runs win over Scotland yesterday, to finish second in their group behind Bangladesh, Zimbabwe fell to a shock four wickets defeat by UAE, the hosts winning their first game of the tournament with their 15-year-old leg spinner hitting the last ball for four.

Zimbabwe still finished top of their group, because of a superior run-rate so, to that extent, the result didn’t matter but it will give Ireland great encouragement going into their semi-final in the Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi (12 noon BST).

Gaby Lewis was player of the match in Ireland’s victory, carrying on where she left off from her undefeated 44 against the States with an even more belligerent 66 off just 37 balls with 13 fours.

She was already in full flow when Amy Hunter was caught for just three with the total on 35 in the fifth over and Lewis then shared a second wicket stand of 62 in 45 balls with Orla Prendergast who finished 55 not out and drained by the extreme heat. She needed an icepack on her neck even before she made it back to the players’ tent.

Prendergast, however, took her place in the field and held a superb catch in the fifth over to reduce Scotland to 34 for two and Cara Murray then took the big wicket of captain Kathryn Bryce for 18 with her fifth ball. When the Waringstown leg spinner followed up with the wicket of Sarah Bryce for 49, the Scots needed 56 from 26 balls with just four wickets left.

It proved to be game over.