The result ensured Ireland’s qualification for the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup
Ireland 150 for 1 (Stirling 66*, Tucker 47*) beat West Indies 146 for 5 (King 62*, Delany 3-16) by nine wickets
In Hobart, where it was supposed to rain all day, Ireland celebrated one of their more crucial victories in T20 cricket, storming into the Super 12 round of the 2022 T20 World Cup and dumping two-time champions West Indies out of the tournament.
Legspinner Gareth Delany and opening batter Paul Stirling were the heroes of Ireland’s stirring performance, full of confidence and bristling energy. After restricting West Indies to 146 for 5, a potentially nervy chase in a knockout game turned into a cruise, as Ireland sprinted to the target in the 18th over, not giving their opponents a whiff of a chance.
When Lorcan Tucker stepped out to loft Obed McCoy inside out over extra cover to score the winning runs, the Ireland fans who had turned up in large numbers broke into trademark song and dance as they waved the Irish flag proudly in blustery Bellerive.
This is only the second time that Ireland had qualified for the second round of a T20 World Cup, after the 2009 tournament in England.
(curtesy cricinfo)
