Coming off a defeat against Afghanistan on Tuesday, Ireland posted a solid 202 for four and then restricted the Americans to 124 for six in reply.
Afghanistan won the other Group A match to virtually book their spot in the next round, while Kenya and hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded wins in Group B.
Captain William Porterfield and Niall O’Brien reeled off a smashing first-wicket partnership — at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium — that gave the Irish the start they wanted while effectively taking the game away from the USA, who had upset Scotland in Tuesday’s opener.
O’Brien cracked 84 off 50 balls with 10 fours and two sixes, while Porterfield stroked 45 off 28 balls.
They delivered an 83-run opening stand at a rate of nearly 10 runs an over against the American squad, proliferated by Caribbean-born players and coached by former West Indies batsman Clayton Lambert.
Alex Cusack lashed a brisk 46 for Ireland while Jamaica-born pacer Timroy Allen, claimed two for 29 off three overs.
Guyanese off-spinner Lennox Cush (1-36) also got among the wickets for the USA, whose tame reply never threatened the target.
Cush and Jamaican Carl Wright, who scored heavily in the USA’s win Tuesday, fell cheaply, both for two, and Aditya Thyagarajan, with an unbeaten 72, was the only significant scorer although Jamaica-born Orlando Baker battled for 28 off 31 balls.
Peter Connell (4-14) and Trent Johnston (2-17) led the bowling in Ireland’s easy win.
Afghanistan outgunned Scotland by 14 runs at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Noor Ali (42) and Mohammad Shahzad (30) were the chief scorers in their total of 131 for seven and Scotland replied with 119 for nine.
Neil McCallum (38) was Scotland’s top scorer, against Hamid Hassan (3-32) and Mohammad Nabi (2-27).
Kenya beat Canada by nine wickets at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Group B.
Guyanese veteran Sunil Dhaniram took the only wicket for Canada and scored just one as the Africans coasted to a fluent win with more than five overs to spare.
Batting first, the Canadians posted 138 for nine off 20 overs with Ashish Bagai (36), Rizwan Cheema (32), and Geoff Barnett (30) getting most runs against Nehemiah Odhiambo (3-16) and Jimmy Kamande (2-18).
Alex Obanda (79) and the veteran Steve Tikolo (50 not out) steered Kenya to victory at 141 for one off 14.5 overs.
In the other Group B match, UAE, behind an unbeaten 60 from Naeemuddin Aslam and Khurram Khan’s 52 not out, won by six wickets over the Netherlands.
