Captain Lorcan Tucker led from the front with a stunning 94 off just 51 balls as Ireland crushed Oman by 96 runs in a one-sided Group B T20 World Cup match at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo.
Ireland's start
After being asked to bat, Ireland were in a spot of bother, losing three wickets on 47 runs. But Tucker shifted the momentum of the game around with an aggressive counterattack. He smashed 10 fours and four sixes, taking the attack to the Oman bowlers and lifting Ireland to a huge 235 for 5.
Oman's chase
Oman began their chase with some fight as Aamir Kaleem scored 50, while Hammad Mirza made 46, and for a brief period, they kept their team in the contest. However, once both batters were dismissed, the innings quickly fell apart. Oman were bowled out for 139 in 18 overs, with eight players failing to reach double figures.
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Josh Little was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland, picking up 3 for 16 from his four overs. He received good support from Matthew Humphreys (2/27), Barry McCarthy (2/32) and George Dockrell (1/6), as Ireland wrapped up a comfortable win.
Despite the big victory, Ireland remains fourth in the group standings, behind Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Australia. Oman, meanwhile, suffered their third defeat of the tournament.
Tucker after the team's dominating win
Player of the Match Tucker said after the game that he had to work hard against the spinners early on before he could settle in and convert his start into a substantial score.
"Felt like we had a mixed-bag, hit a lot of boundaries but lost a lot of wickets. A little bit tougher than batting at the start. Had to put in a lot of work on batting against spin. It was about keeping my tempo and capitalising on bad balls for boundaries," said Tucker.
He added that the emphatic margin of victory had provided a significant boost to the team's Net Run Rate, something that could prove crucial later on.
"One of our best days. Turned up and played some positive cricket. Got a boost to our net run rate as well," he added.