West Indies crashed out of the T20 World Cup 2022 after suffering a humiliating defeat to Ireland at Bellerive Oval in Hobart, thanks to a composed half-century from Paul Stirling. In what was a must-win match for both games, the Windies’ batters faltered in a dramatic fashion, as none of them, barring Brandon King, could offer resistance of any sort.

It was always a chasing game after they could only muster 145 on a surface that looked like a paradise for the batters. They lost both openers, Johnson Charles and Kyle Mayers, cheaply inside the Powerplay, while Evin Lewis never managed to unshackle himself.

It was quite strange to watch Lewis, who is arguably the most attacking batter in the side, struggling to assert his authority on the bowlers. The agonizing stay of Lewis, which lasted for 18 balls and yielded just 13 runs without any boundary, came to an end by Gareth Delany. Brandon King was the lone bright star, and if not for his 48-ball 63, West Indies wouldn’t have reached the respectable total.

For Ireland, Delany was the pick of the bowlers, claiming three wickets and conceding just 16 runs in his quota of four overs. Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie then got Ireland off to a brisk start, laying the foundation for the victory with a 73-run stand in just over seven overs. While Stirling played the anchoring role, Balbirnie came out with attacking intent, and struck three fours and as many sixes for his 23-ball 37.

Stirling, meanwhile, completed his half-century with a boundary against Odean Smith in the 12th over. Lorcan Tucker also played an entertaining knock, making 45 off just 35 deliveries, and also scored a winning boundary to send Ireland to the Super 12.

Not many would have envisioned the two-time world champion failing to advance after being pooled with Scotland, Ireland, and Zimbabwe in the group stage. Captain Nicholas Pooran was visibly distraught with the defeat and pinned this on an underwhelming batting performance.

“It’s tough, we haven’t batted well in this tournament at all. On a really good batting surface, making 145, it’s a really difficult task for the bowlers. It was going to be a challenge. Congratulations to Ireland, they batted fantastically and bowled well today,” said Pooran in a post-match interview.

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