179/10 (34.1)
CR : 5.24
303/6 (50.0)
CR : 6.06
Ireland won by 124 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Andrew Balbirnie
112(138)
IRE won by 124 runs
10:22 PM IST and 5:52 PM Local Time: IRELAND HAVE SHOWN DOMINANCE ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL!! They beat West Indies by 124 runs in the first of the three-match ODI series.
Eyeing to make a mark in this preparatory ODI series with a couple of years left for the 2027 Cricket World Cup, West Indies incurred early blows. Tector's stupendous direct hit made way for five wickets inside the powerplay, highlighted by Barry McCarthy's three-fer. Thomas Myes cleaned up opposition captain Shai Hope to wrap up a 35-run first powerplay for West Indies.
Eventually, Justin Greaves counter-punched the visitors with a flurry of boundaries before Joshua Little nullified with a scalp. Following Greaves' 17-ball 35, Roston Chade and Matthew Forde held the fort, steering them to 97/6 at the end of the 20th over. The sixth-wicket partnership troubled the hosts for quite some time, neutralising the bowlers in the middle overs phase. While Chase got a fifty after being appointed the Men in Maroon's Test captain, he failed to convert it as George Dockrell broke the 98-run stand.
This broke in the stand made way for a collapse, highlighted by Dockrell's three-fer. They lost four wickets in a space of 19 balls at the end, only to be folded for 179. This is Ireland's biggest margin of win against the West Indies in ODIs.
The opening pair of Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie showed authority with the bat inside a 54-run powerplay as Matthew Forde and Alzarri Joseph failed to penetrate the batting order. The partnership grew to 109 before Stirling fell after a well-tailored fifty. Following his 54, Cadd Carmichael failed to convert a start before Harry Tector accompanied well-set Balbirnie for a 98 runs stand. The former captain went on to smash a gracious ton before falling to Alzarri in the 44th over with the score 249/3. Tector accelerated with time and Lorcan Tucker's 18-ball 30 runs blitz helped the Irish side get past the 300 runs mark. Forde was pick of the bowler in this 303-run innings, scalping a three-fer.
Eyeing to make a mark in this preparatory ODI series with a couple of years left for the 2027 Cricket World Cup, West Indies incurred early blows. Tector's stupendous direct hit made way for five wickets inside the powerplay, highlighted by Barry McCarthy's three-fer. Thomas Myes cleaned up opposition captain Shai Hope to wrap up a 35-run first powerplay for West Indies.
Eventually, Justin Greaves counter-punched the visitors with a flurry of boundaries before Joshua Little nullified with a scalp. Following Greaves' 17-ball 35, Roston Chade and Matthew Forde held the fort, steering them to 97/6 at the end of the 20th over. The sixth-wicket partnership troubled the hosts for quite some time, neutralising the bowlers in the middle overs phase. While Chase got a fifty after being appointed the Men in Maroon's Test captain, he failed to convert it as George Dockrell broke the 98-run stand.
This broke in the stand made way for a collapse, highlighted by Dockrell's three-fer. They lost four wickets in a space of 19 balls at the end, only to be folded for 179. This is Ireland's biggest margin of win against the West Indies in ODIs.
The opening pair of Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie showed authority with the bat inside a 54-run powerplay as Matthew Forde and Alzarri Joseph failed to penetrate the batting order. The partnership grew to 109 before Stirling fell after a well-tailored fifty. Following his 54, Cadd Carmichael failed to convert a start before Harry Tector accompanied well-set Balbirnie for a 98 runs stand. The former captain went on to smash a gracious ton before falling to Alzarri in the 44th over with the score 249/3. Tector accelerated with time and Lorcan Tucker's 18-ball 30 runs blitz helped the Irish side get past the 300 runs mark. Forde was pick of the bowler in this 303-run innings, scalping a three-fer.
Biggest Margin of Victories for Ireland in ODIs:
226 Runs v UAE at Harare, 2018
138 Runs v UAE at Bulawayo, 2023
133 Runs v Canada at Dublin, 2011
124 Runs v West Indies at Dublin, TODAY*
117 Runs v Kenya at Mombasa, 2012
226 Runs v UAE at Harare, 2018
138 Runs v UAE at Bulawayo, 2023
133 Runs v Canada at Dublin, 2011
124 Runs v West Indies at Dublin, TODAY*
117 Runs v Kenya at Mombasa, 2012
Shai Hope (West Indies Captain): "We gotta make sure we get early wickets with the ball. We didn't struck with the new ball that was the biggest takeaway from the game and hopefully we can correct that in the next game.
They played well. We needed to show a little bit more intent. They hit those areas all the time to get into a decent rhythm and the rest was history.
[On the 6th wicket partnership] We just need to set the tone at the start, have a decent powerplay. We have got decent players in the backend.
They completely outplayed us in this game, we will come back stronger."
They played well. We needed to show a little bit more intent. They hit those areas all the time to get into a decent rhythm and the rest was history.
[On the 6th wicket partnership] We just need to set the tone at the start, have a decent powerplay. We have got decent players in the backend.
They completely outplayed us in this game, we will come back stronger."
Paul Stirling (Ireland Captain): "Yeah, happy with the team performance. Absolutely, they have come in and played whatsoever it will only make us a better team from here on.
Honestly, I had no idea. These days, with all the media and people talking, you don't get to know. I still think that as a current International cricketer, you don't get time to reflect on these.
He did, he just played a Balbirnie innings. That's his role to see through the innings and play a deeper role. The way Harry came in and unlocked as well. 100%, I think 300 was chaseable, and I think the pressure that Thomas put on made it easy for Barry.
The process is gonna be the same for the next couple of days, hopefully we can pull off the same result. Absolutely, thanks."
Player of the Match: Andy Balbirnie
Andy Balbirnie (Player of the Match): "We had a tough couple of weeks in terms of injuries but great work from Paul. 10000 runs is a great achievement. He's an incredible player for Ireland across formats. The more he contributes to this team, the better it will be.
That's my role to bat deep. Somedays it will come off and somedays it won't but luckily it did today. We felt like we got enough runs but the new ball bowlers set us up for the big win.
This win sets us up nicely. Both the teams know the conditions. We will come back on Friday hoping to continue the same."
That's my role to bat deep. Somedays it will come off and somedays it won't but luckily it did today. We felt like we got enough runs but the new ball bowlers set us up for the big win.
This win sets us up nicely. Both the teams know the conditions. We will come back on Friday hoping to continue the same."
Ireland takes the 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. Thank you for tuning in. This is Arijit Kundu, signing off along with co-commentators Ninaad Dixit and Pritam Dey, while Bishal Mandal was the scorer/analyst for the game.