Stirling stars for Ireland in a thrilling T20 triumph over West Indies
IRELAND earned a thrilling four-run victory in their recordbreaking T20 opener against the West Indies in Grenada yesterday.
Andrew Balbirnie won the toss and elected to make first use of a wearing wicket. And use it, they did.
Opening pair Paul Stirling (95 from 47 balls) and Kevin O’Brien (48 from 32 balls) smashed the ball to all parts of the ground, demolishing records along the way, as they set about laying waste to the West Indian attack.
The pair put on 93 runs in the first six overs — a record high team score during the first powerplay in T20I cricket — and went on to strike a 154-run partnership in 12.3 overs. This was a record T20I partnership for Ireland for any wicket, and put the visitors in a commanding position.
The first wicket of O’Brien stalled Ireland’s momentum. Four wickets fell in quick succession, with the Irish batters struggling to regain control and not lose the advantage from their record-breaking start.
Amongst the wickets to go down was Stirling, falling five runs short of his maiden T20I century. His innings included eight sixes and six fours, as he demonstrated his full range of shots.
A late innings of 19 from Gareth Delany and 17 from Gary Wilson helped the Irish finish well, ending on 208 for six — the third-highest team score for Ireland in this format of the game.
The West Indian batters needed a fast start, and they got it, with 33 from the first three overs, before an incredible diving outfield catch by George Dockrell brought the first wicket from Josh Little’s bowling.
The Windies batters continued to pile on the runs, but crucial wickets of Evin Lewis (53) and Shimron Hetmyer (28) changed the momentum again.
The West Indian captain Kieron Pollard hit a breezy 31 from 15 balls, threatening to take the game away from Ireland, but the Irish fielders continued to hold their catches – and their nerves – taking the game into the last over.
With 15 required from the final over, a seesawing six balls saw two wickets fall and a six hit, but with five needed from the last ball, Josh Little (3-29) delivered a good length ball and Ireland registered only their second victory over the West Indies in white ball cricket.
Player of the match Paul Stirling said: ‘It was a really good pitch and I think we put a par score on which showed in the end, we felt we were in the game the whole way through. It was touch and go, but we’re enjoying the tight games — we came out the right side this time, so it’s a nice feeling.’
Balbirnie added: ‘Everyone is ecstatic, we came so close in that second ODI and it maybe affected us in that third ODI, so to show the bottle and come out against one of the top teams in T20 cricket and get a win was great for the vibe of the team.’
The second match of the T20I series will be on Saturday at St Kitts and Nevis, live on Sky Sports Cricket.