A boundary-laden 71 from Paul Stirling, helped Ireland to a 15-run victory over Oman in their first match of the Oman Quadrangular T20I series.
Stirling, Ireland’s T20I captain for the tour of Oman and Afghanistan, hit 11 fours and one six to help Ireland to 159/5 from their 20 overs. In response, Oman could only muster 144, with a strong showing across the board from Ireland’s bowlers halting the threat of a win for the home side.
The opening pair of Stirling and Kevin O’Brien provided Ireland with a solid foundation after Oman won the toss and elected to field. While the first three overs resulted in just 17 overs, the next two saw a couple of boundaries from Stirling and some lusty blows from O’Brien to help Ireland to 43/0.
? UPDATE: Ireland v Oman
Ireland will bat first.
The Ireland side today is:
Paul Stirling (Captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Josh Little, Kevin O’Brien, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Lorcan Tucker#BackingGreen ☘️? pic.twitter.com/Xeh5bYZENQ— Cricket Ireland (@Irelandcricket) February 13, 2019
O’Brien then departed for 19 to the bowling of T20I debutant Fayyaz Butt, with Andrew Balbirnie joining Stirling at the crease. Both batsmen accumulated steadily, and Stirling reached his half-century from 37 balls with a single off the bowling of Mohammad Nadeem. Balbirnie found his feet through Jay Odedra’s first over, dispatching the off-spinner for two boundaries.
Odedra, another Oman player making his T20I debut, was targeted by the two batsmen with Stirling hitting the Oman bowler for two fours and a six in the 14th over. Balbirnie eventually fell victim to Ajay Lalcheta to bring an end to his useful 24-ball knock of 34.
It signalled the start of a mini-resurgence for Oman, with Stirling out to Butt for 71, while Simi Singh (1) was run out from the first ball of Bilal Khan’s third over. Nevertheless, an innings of 22 from 17 balls from Lorcan Tucker kept Ireland ticking along and past the 150-run mark.
After two runs from Boyd Rankin’s opening over, Oman sparked to life with Jatinder Singh (22) peeling off three boundaries from Peter Chase’s opening over. Chase would eventually find revenge with the opener’s wicket from his next over, following on from the dismissal of Khawar Ali (5) off of Joshua Little’s fourth delivery.
Aamir Kaleem and Khurram Nawaz put on a 41-run partnership before the left-arm spin of George Dockrell intervened, bowling Nawaz for 16. The next over saw Oman’s line-up unravel with Simi Singh picking up three wickets. Kaleem was bowled for 21 before Mehran Kahn returned a catch to the bowler from his first ball faced. Lalcheta (1) was adjudged lbw with the final ball of the over – leaving Oman 76/6 at the halfway mark.
The run-rate fell rapidly as Singh and and Shane Getkafe tightened the screws, before Dockrell picked up his second wicket, removing Naseem Khushi for 8. While the 17th over saw Oman take 13 runs from the bowling of Chase, the home side’s tailenders failed to really threaten as Ireland kicked off their campaign with a win.
