Picture Credit: Twitter
Agony in one camp, ecstasy in another! That is how sports work or life for that matter. While it’s a win for one team, the other has to lose. It happened on Friday (21 October) when West Indies were knocked out of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 after losing to Ireland in their final fixture of the first round. The two-time champions could not qualify for the second round and the walk back to the pavilion was a tough one for the Men in Maroon.
Every West Indies player looked devastated after the loss and had tears in their eyes when they saw Ireland cruising past them. Lorcan Tucker hit the winning run for Ireland and crushed the hopes of every West Indian who dreamt of seeing their team lift the title for the third time. The pain of the players was visible on their faces.
Everyone from the experienced Jason Holder to young Akeal Hosein was left in tatters post the defeat. Captain Nicholas Pooran too felt the nerves as he walked in disdain.
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As already stated, while it was agony for West Indies, it was ecstasy for Ireland who fought hard for that Super 12 spot. The Andrew Balbirnie-led team beat Scotland and Zimbabwe in consecutive games to advance to the next round. The Irish bowlers did a terrific job to restrict West Indies to a below-par total of 146/5. Gareth Delany led the charge for Ireland with the ball as the leg-spinner took three wickets at the expense of only 16 runs in his four overs.
It was then on to the batters to seal the deal and who better to do it than Paul Stirling. The seasoned campaigner stood up to the challenge and scored an unbeaten 66 off 48 balls. He got great support from Andrew Balbirnie (37 off 23) and Lorcan Tucker (45* off 35).
As Tucker hit the winning run, Ireland players were on their feet, hugging and cheering. It was all smiles in the Irish camp.