We haven\u2019t batted well this tournament at all, says Windies skipper
\nMELBOURNE
\nPaul Stirling smashed a glittering half-century as Ireland eliminated twice champions West Indies from the T20 World Cup and advanced to the Super 12 phase with a nine-wicket thrashing in Hobart on Friday.
\nThe burly redhead\u2019s unbeaten 66 from 48 balls helped Ireland mow down a modest total of 146 for five with 15 balls to spare on a cloudy afternoon at Bellerive Oval.
\nBrandon King scored an unbeaten 62 for the West Indies but had little support as the Caribbeans made their earliest exit from the global showpiece since the inaugural 2007 tournament in South Africa.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s tough. We haven\u2019t batted well this tournament at all and on a really good batting surface, coming here making 145 was really difficult,\u201d said West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran.
\n\u201cIn saying that, congratulations to Ireland. I think they batted fantastically and they bowled well today.\u201d
\nIreland all-rounder Gareth Delany sucked the wind out of the West Indies\u2019 batsmen, capturing 3-16 with his legspin in the later middle overs.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s obviously an incredible day for us,\u201d said Delany, who was named man of the match. \u201cWe\u2019re ecstatic about what we\u2019re going to be able to do over the next few weeks.\u201d
\nThe West Indies knew their total was below par but were powerless to defend it as Stirling and captain Andy Balbirnie stormed to a 73-run opening partnership before Balbirnie was caught cutting for 37.
\nNumber three Lorcan Tucker joined Stirling in the middle and thrashed an unbeaten 45 as the Irish cruised to victory in the Group B qualifier.
\nTucker brought up the winning runs in style, dancing down the wicket to smash Obed McCoy over extra cover for four, triggering wild cheers from a smattering of Irish fans.
\nThough a fixture at World Cups over the past decade, it is only the second time Ireland have made the second round of the T20 tournament, since the last time in England in 2009.
\nAfter losing their opener to Zimbabwe, Ireland produced a brilliant chase to beat Scotland on Wednesday and were virtually flawless against the West Indies, the 2012 and 2016 champions.
\n\u201cIt means everything. We had a really disappointing loss last year at the same stage,\u201d captain Balbirnie said of the 2021 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
\n\u201cWe did a lot of thinking, a lot of things changed back home.
\n\u201cLosing the first game (here) and then coming back and beating a two-time champion in a must-win game – just couldn\u2019t be prouder.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re just delighted as a group.\u201d
\nScotland and Zimbabwe face off in the late match in Hobart, with the winners to join Ireland in the Super 12\u2019s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We haven\u2019t batted well this tournament at all, says Windies skipper MELBOURNE Paul Stirling smashed a glittering half-century as Ireland eliminated twice champions West Indies from the T20 World Cup and advanced to the Super 12 phase with a nine-wicket thrashing in Hobart on Friday. The burly redhead\u2019s unbeaten 66 from 48 balls helped Ireland […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290783,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-290768","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n