Ireland caused the biggest upset of the tournament after they defeated West Indies by nine wickets to confirm their place in the Super 12 of the competition at the expense of the t20-time T20 World Cup champions. Led by Paul Stirling with the bat and Gareth Delany with the ball, the Irish minnows are in contention to be placed in India's group depending on the result of the second match.
Stirling's Sterling batting
Chasing a total of 147 to seal their place in the next round of the competition, Irish opener Stirling had his task cut out from the very beginning. However, the West Indies bowlers could not find a solution for the veteran's batting ability, and he was hitting the ball all over the place, setting up a brilliant 73-run partnership with opening partner Andrew Balbirnie.
And Stirling kept the innings going after Balbirnie was dismissed by Akeal Hosein, scoring 37 off just 23 balls. Despite the breakthrough, Ireland held on to their nerves, with Lorcan Tucker providing the backup to Stirling.
At one point, it seemed like Tucker also lost his wicket off Obed McCoy's bowling, but the pacer was minutely no-ball, and the wicket did not stand. Eventually, the duo took the Irish lads home without losing another wicket and 15 balls to spare.
Feeble Windies batters
The West Indies batters are known for their aggressiveness with the blade, but the current side, playing without the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer, were far from their best. The only batter worth mentioning is Brandon 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.
