Ireland have crushed West Indies by 9 wickets in Hobart to ebook their place within the Super 12s stage of the T20 World Cup and send the previous champions crashing out.
After successful the toss and deciding to bat, the Windies may solely publish 146 for 5, with Brandon King scoring an unbeaten 62. Ireland’s spinners performed their half with Gareth Delany taking three for 16 and Sami Singh one for 11 from his two overs. Odean Smith added a speedy 19 late within the innings, however the 147 goal all the time seemed modest.
Ireland, who had recovered from a 31-run defeat to Zimbabwe with a dramatic comeback to beat Scotland, reached their victory goal with 15 balls to spare. Paul Stirling made 66 not out and constructed a first-wicket partnership of 73 with Andy Balbirnie, earlier than the captain was caught at level off Akeal Hosein for 37.
Lorcan Tucker got here in to bat and scored 45 not out, hitting the successful runs to seal a memorable victory for the lack of just one wicket. Ireland advance to the Super 12s for the primary time since 2009, whereas the two-time event winners are left to replicate on an ignominious first-round exit.
“This means everything to us. We were so disappointed to miss out at this stage last year,” the Ireland captain, Andy Balbirnie, informed the BBC afterwards.
“We set out some things we wanted to achieve as a team and how we wanted to play,” he added. “We lost our first game but to then come back and beat two-time champions in a must-win game, I could not be prouder. It was an emotional finish, we are absolutely delighted. It is a really proud day for Ireland.”
“It’s definitely hurting,” mentioned the West Indies captain, Nicholas Pooran. “I’m disappointed in myself and how it has gone but we will live to fight another day. I want to say congratulations to Ireland, they batted and bowled fantastically today. This is a learning experience for us.”
Scotland will face Zimbabwe in Friday’s second match at the Bellerive Oval, with the winner set to assert the ultimate qualifying spot within the Super 12s.
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