Two-time World Champions West Indies were knocked out of the 2022 T20 World Cup after losing to Ireland in their final group stage match against Ireland on Friday, October 21. The Windies were ousted by nine wickets at the Bellerive Oval in what was a complete performance by the Irish players as they enter the Super-12 stage of the marquee tournament.
The West Indians failed with both bat and ball on the all-important matchday, ending a terrible campaign for the new generation of players, who were without the services of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Chris Gayle.
Meanwhile, a teary-eyed Nicholas Pooran apologised to the fans back home in the post-match presentation and said that it hurt that the team had to go back home this early in the tournament. "It's tough, we haven't batted well in this tournament and didn't today either. Coming here and defending 145 was really difficult. Asking the bowlers to defend the total was really going to be a challenge. Congratulations to Ireland, I think they batted fantastically and bowled well," the wicketkeeper-batter said.
However, despite their underwhelming show at the ICC cricket tournament, Pooran was also quick to appreciate a few of his players, while also sharing his confidence in the future of the team. "There's a lot of positives Brandon King is batting well, Alzarri stepped up. But we are disappointed and have disappointed the fans back home. It is definitely hurting. I am definitely disappointed. We live to see another day," the player concluded his short assessment after the knockout blow.
Match recap:
Earlier, the West Indies were restricted to just 145 runs. The only batter worth mentioning is King, who kept the fight going with his unbeaten 62 off 48 balls.
The Windies' batters were not even allowed to settle into the game by the Irish bowlers, with Delany getting the wickets of their most dangerous batters Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell in quick succession to stifle the West India batting attack.
Odean Smith smashed 19 off 12 balls in the final overs of the match to take them to a sub-par score, which was eventually not enough.
The Irish were condemned to a loss in their opening match against Zimbabwe, courtesy of an exceptional batting performance from Sikander Raza. But the side came off their own in the second innings and were able to make it to the main stage of the competition.
