Ireland grabbed the headline of the 2022 T20 World Cup so far with their nine-wicket against West Indies, pushing the most successful team in the competition’s history out of the Super 12 contention.
Winning the toss, West Indies opted to bat first in Hobart. Simi Singh and Barry McCarthy put the Irish in advantage, removing both openers in the powerplay, leading the run rate to slow down.
With wickets continuing to fall at the other end, Brandon King manifested a respectable first innings total for the Windies with his 48-ball-62 that included six fours and one maximum.
Odean Smith joined hands towards the end with his 12-ball cameo of 19 as the 2012 and 2016 winners finished their 20 overs at 146/5.
Just like they did with the ball, the Irish openers took the attack to the opposition right from the get go. Paul Stirling and skipper Andre Balbirnie 73 runs off 45 deliveries to set the chase.
Even though Akeal Hosein did provide the Windies with a breakthrough, it made little difference in context of the game as keeper batter Lorcan Tucker then took the proceedings ahead with Sterling, who went on to score his 21st T20I fifty. The 32-year-old, who is also the fifth highest scorer in the format, breached the 3000 run mark as well.
The loss marked West Indies’ sixth out of eight matches in the competition since they won the 2016 final at Eden Gardens.
Brief Scores
West Indies: 146 for 5 in 20 overs (Brandon King 62; Gareth Delany 3/16, Simi Singh 1/11)
Ireland: 152 for 1 in 17.3 overs (Paul Stirling 66 not out, Andy Balbirine 37, Lorcan Tucker 47 not out)