Ireland on Friday defeated the two-time T20 World Cup champion West Indies to advance to the Super 12 stage in Hobart. The Ireland team beat the Caribbeans by nine wickets to reach the next round and eliminated the West Indies team from the T20 World Cup.
For Ireland, Paul Stirling hit a half-century to help his team win the match. His unbeaten knock of 66 runs from 48 deliveries helped his team reach the set target of 146 runs for the loss of five wickets with more than two overs to spare on a cloudy afternoon. All-rounder Gareth Delany was the most successful Irish bowler, picking up three wickets for 16 runs.
While the batsmen were unable to put a competitive total on board, the bowlers too were unable to defend the total as Stirling and skipper Andy Balbirnie put on a 73-run partnership for the first wicket. Balbirnie’s wicket was the first to fall after he scored 37 runs in 23 balls. Putting up a strong opening partnership, Stirling hit six boundaries and two sixes while Balbirnie hit three boundaries and three sixes.
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After the fall of Balbirnie’s wicket, number three batsman, Lorcan Tucker, also joined the party remaining unbeaten on 45 runs in 35 deliveries. He hit two boundaries and as many sixes during his innings.
For West Indies, none of the batsmen apart from King could contribute much with the bat with the next highest scorer being Johnson Charles who hit 24 runs in 18 balls. His innings had three boundaries and a six. While Odean Smith scored 19 runs after facing 12 balls, Evein Lewis and skipper Nicholas Pooran hit 13 runs each. While Lewis faced 18 balls, Pooran faced 11 balls .
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With the match completely in Ireland’s pocket, Tucker hit the winning run in style. Facing Obed McCoy, he danced down the wicket to hit the boundary to bring a cheer from the Ireland fans.