Ireland broke all the shackles to hand West Indies a crushing defeat. Ireland now have grabbed 10 invaluable World Super League Points. Ireland now has 58 points (* played 17 Matches) with 5 wins and are placed at 4th position, whereas West Indies have got 50 points (*played 11 matches) & are placed at 5th position. The race for qualification looks quite fascinating as there is cut-throat competition.
Ireland had won the toss & elected to field first. West Indies were bundled out for a moderate total of 229 runs in 48 overs. The pacers & spinners of Ireland were bang on target as they didn’t allow any partnership to burgeon. Due to inclement weather the target was revised to 168 runs. 168 runs were required in 36 overs. The match was evenly poised as the required run rate was heading up to 6 runs.
The opening partnership was quite fruitful as the veteran William Porterfield & Paul Stirling made the most of the powerplay overs. The openers yielded 37 runs in 5 overs & instilled a belief in dressing room that they can create a havoc. West Indies bowlers were erratic, yet productive. The match was heading into a thriller as West Indies weren’t in a mood to give up.
Harry Tector along with Andy McBrine were involved in a huge partnership of 44 runs (*given the context of the match). The spinners: Roston Chase & Akeal Hosein weren’t living up to their reputation. Harry Tector guided the team till the end & has given Ireland a shot at history (*Ireland have never won ODI Series against West Indies)
Harry Tector got ample support from the rest of the batting line-up. Tector scored a compelling half-century of 54 runs in 75 balls. Andy McBrine played a fiery knock of 35 runs in 45 balls. The pick of the bowlers was the crafty off-spinner Akeal Hosein who took 2 wickets. There were high expectations from the experienced campaigner Jason Holder & the young sensation Alzarri Joseph, but both of them succumbed to pressure. The things got so much out of control that the skipper Kieron Pollard had to roll his arm over.
Ireland would be delighted. For Ireland it’s a phase of merriment & jubilation, as victory has opened the gates of changing the history. Ireland knows that well begun is half done.
West Indies were asked to bat first. West Indies had a decent power-play where they managed to score 39 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. West Indies batting line up got a major downfall as they were reduced to 104 runs for 6 wickets in 31 overs. The Power-hitters Kieron Pollard & Jason Holder were back in the dressing room. The core of the damage was done by the spinners. The pick of the spinners was Andy McBrine who took 4 wickets & gave away 36 runs in his 10 overs spell.
Odean Smith the tyro all-rounder blistered a thunderstorm cameo of 46 runs in 19 balls. He along with Romario Shepherd took West Indies total to a competitive 229 runs. Odean was just bashing the bowlers all around the park. Shepherd played a second fiddle as he scored a half century in 40 balls. West Indies have developed a pedigree of finding all-rounders as Romario & Odean’s batting positions were 9 & 10.
West Indies would be ruing the fact that they couldn’t make a match out of a sporting wicket. West Indies know that they need to avoid embarrassment & in order to do so they need to play fear-less cricket. Ireland would be over-the moon as they know that their hard-work has paid off. At the same time Ireland know that their next match is a knock-out punch.
The 3rd ODI is scheduled on 16th January 2022. Ireland looks most likely to win ODI Series as they are ready to grind out the opponents, whereas West Indies are looking a bit lethargic (*especially in the starting phase of Match).
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