IRE vs ENG: Phil Salt's lightning 46-ball 89 hands England 4-wicket win over Ireland in 1st T20I on Jacob Bethell's captaincy debut

Continuing his prolific form Phil Salt played a sensational innings of 89 from 46 balls to guide England to a four-wicket victory over Ireland in the first T20I on Wednesday, September 17. Fresh from a record-breaking century against South Africa, Salt was instrumental as England successfully chased down a stiff target of 197 in just 17.4 overs at The Village in Dublin.

Phil Salt's special hands England 4-wicket win over Ireland

The foundation for the chase was laid by a blistering opening partnership between Salt and Jos Buttler, who added 74 runs in a mere 28 balls. Their aggressive start propelled England to a commanding powerplay score of 84/1, with Buttler contributing a quickfire 28 from 10 deliveries. During this initial onslaught, Salt raced to his half-century in just 20 balls.

After Buttler's departure, Salt continued to anchor the innings and received crucial support from captain Jacob Bethell, who scored 24 off 16 balls, and Sam Curran, who added 27 from 15. These contributions ensured that England maintained the required run rate and comfortably secured the win.

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Phil Salt put up a strong partnership with Curran, adding 50 runs off just 30 balls. However, Salt's impressive innings came to a close when he was caught out at deep point. He narrowly missed a record-tying fifth T20I century, finishing with 89 runs.

After Salt's dismissal, Will Jacks and Jamie Overton took control, successfully leading England to victory. Ireland's bowling attack was led by Matthew Humphreys and Graham Hume, who each took two wickets, finishing with figures of 2/44 and 2/36, respectively.

Earlier, while batting first Paul Stirling and Ross Adair established a strong foundation, contributing a 57-run partnership from just 44 balls. England's bowlers eventually broke through, with Liam Dawson dismissing Adair and Rashid taking out Stirling, leaving Ireland at 67 for 2 after 8.3 overs. After the openers were dismissed, Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker took control, forging an impressive 123-run partnership from only 68 balls. Their collaboration was crucial, helping Ireland reach a formidable total of 190. Jamie Overton finally ended the partnership by getting Tucker out on the second-to-last ball of the innings. However, George Dockrell stepped up and hit a six on the final ball, pushing Ireland's final score to a commanding 196 for 3 in their 20 overs.

The second T20I between England and Ireland will be played on September 10.;