IRE vs WI: Evin Lewis’ Whirlwind Knock Blows Away Ireland

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After the first two matches were washed out due to rain, the weather finally improved, and we got to see a full game on Sunday. Evin Lewis stole the show with a gigantic innings of 91 off 44 balls, ably supported by Shai Hope, who scored 51 off 27 balls alongside Keacy Carty’s fantastic finish as West Indies amassed a humongous 256/5 in 20 overs.

Chasing 256 was always going to be a tough task for the hosts, but they put up a spirited reply in the second innings. Captain Paul Stirling went early but Ross Adair played well for his 48 off 36 balls, while Harry Tector looked good for his 38 off 25 balls. Mark Adair’s 31* off 14 balls alongside 23 extras given by West Indies took the score to 194/7, falling 62 runs short of the total. Akeal Hosein had a good day with the ball taking 3/27 in 4 overs.

Evin Lewis & Shai Hope lay the platform for the West Indies

Put into bat first under overcast conditions, the West Indies came out all guns blazing courtesy of their openers Evin Lewis and captain Shai Hope. They did not spare any Irish bowlers and took them to the sword. They scored 70 runs in the powerplay and put on 122 for the first wicket. Shai Hope was the initial aggressor of the two, and after he departed for 51 off 27 balls laced with 4 fours and as many sixes, Evin Lewis shifted gears and went into overdrive mode.

Hope departed and Rovman Powell promoted to Number 3 in this game did not trouble the scores much although he and Lewis had put on 28 for the second wicket. Shimron Hetmyer made 15 off 7 balls while Lewis fell for 91 off 44 balls laced with 7 fours and 8 sixes in the innings.

West Indies Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo
West Indies Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo

The innings wobbled a bit in the middle, but it was debutant Keacy Carty who picked up the pieces and finished things off nicely with his unbeaten 49 coming off 22 balls which had 4 fours and 4 sixes as well. He was ably supported by Jason Holder who made 18 off 13 balls and Romario Shepherd finished things off in style as with his 19* off 6 balls which included three huge sixes in the crowd.

After scoring 70 in the powerplay, West Indies scored 104 runs in the middle overs for the loss of three wickets and 82 runs in the death for the loss of two wickets. 11 extras were given by the Irish bowlers.

Ireland Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo
Ireland Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo

It was a day to forget for the Ireland bowlers as all of them went for runs. Amidst all the carnage, Matthew Humphreys stood out with figures of 2/16 in 4 overs in such a high scoring game. But the rest of the bowlers went for plenty of runs. Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, and Ben White picked up a wicket each in their respective 4 overs but all of them went for over 50 runs in their respective spells. It was a day to forget for Liam McCarthy as he went for 81 runs in his 4 overs and did not get a wicket either.

Ireland puts up a spirited run chase; Akeal Hosein spoils party

Chasing 257 for the win was always going to be a tough task for Ireland. They needed a perfect run chase to even compete in this game. But they did not get off to the best possible start as they lost their captain Paul Stirling for 13 off 6 balls in the second over of the innings.

Stirling continues to struggle for consistency and needs to up his game for Ireland to do well. Thereafter, Ross Adair and Harry Tector stitched together a partnership of 101 runs off 58 balls. They played through the powerplay taking the team score to 64 in 6 overs. Ross played really well for his 48 off 36 balls laced with 3 fours and 4 sixes. Tector played well for his 38 off 25 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name. Harry Tector fell at the score of 114 to Roston Chase.

After the fall of the Tector wicket, Lorcan Tucker fell cheaply and Ross Adair fell soon after as Ireland lost 3 wickets for 2 runs in a matter of 7 balls. The Irish never really could recover from this jolt as they were chasing a huge total ahead of them. George Dockrell scored 15 off 8 balls while Mark Adair entertained the crowd towards the end scoring an unbeaten 31 runs off 14 balls with 4 sixes into the crowd.

Ireland Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo
Ireland Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo

Liam McCarthy remained unbeaten on 16* off 15 balls as Ireland ended their spirited reply at 194/7 in 20 overs. 23 extras were given by the West Indies which included 16 wides. An area, the West Indies need to work on going forward in their T20 Cricket.

With so many runs to defend, West Indies knew they had to bowl decently to get the job done with the scoreboard pressure on Ireland. It was Akeal Hosein who led from the front with his impressive bowling figures of 3/27 in 4 overs really breaking the backbone of Irish batting. Hosein bowls really well from around the wicket and has troubled most batters.

A couple of wickets for Jason Holder but he went for 49 runs in 4 overs. A wicket for Romario Shepherd who finished with 1/23 in 3 overs. A wicket for Roston Chase who bowled 2 overs for 16 runs. Another day to forget for Alzarri Joseph going for 44 runs and remaining wicketless in his 4 overs. Gudakesh Motie had a rare off day giving away 28 runs in 3 overs and going wicketless.

West Indies Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo
West Indies Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo

West Indies have something to cheer about and hold onto after this win. They had a miserable outing against England in England losing all the six white ball games across ODIS and T20IS. Most of those games were one-sided with West Indies competing here and there.

After going through such an assignment, they will be happy to win the T20I series 1-0 after the first two matches were washed out due to rain. Remember, at the start of the UK tour the West Indies drew the 3-match ODI series 1-1 with one match washed out. So, a tough UK tour that has ended with a win for the West Indies.

What Lies Ahead. 

West Indies will now return back to the Caribbean and there will be a change of formats as well. They will return to the Test format and host Pat Cummins’ Australia in a 3-match Test series starting June 25th. Roston Chase will be leading West Indies in what will be a new challenge and assignment for him. This will also mark the start of the next WTC Cycle 2025-27 for both teams.

So, interesting times ahead for the West Indies. Ireland currently as of now have no scheduled games to play and they would like to get back to the drawing board and come back stronger in their upcoming assignments.

Also Read: WI vs AUS: “Captaining The West Indies Is A Great Job”- Roston Chase Ready To Embrace Leadership


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