USA stunned Ireland as they marked their historic first T20I win against a Test-playing nation with a 26-run victory in Florida, on Wednesday in the first of two Twenty20 cricket internationals. It was the first time an International Cricket Council (ICC) full member had faced the USA on American soil.
The USA won the toss and elected to bat, then got off to a horrible start. Barry McCarthy dismissed captain Monank Patel with the second ball and then they were reduced to 16-4 inside five overs. Guyanese-born Gajanand Singh and Modani showed a great fightback and brought the hosts back into the game. Modani (50 off 39), Singh (65 off 42), and a late flourished by Marty Kain (39* off 15) helped them post a mammoth total of 188 for six wickets.
Chasing 189, Ireland got off to the worst possible start as they lost captain Andy Balbirine in the second over. Opener Paul Stirling smashed 31 from 15 balls but was eventually bowled by Saurabh Netravalkar in the fifth over, the Irish innings ran out of steam. Lorcan Tucker top-scored with an unbeaten 57 from 49 balls but no other batter supported him from the other end. Despite Tuckner’s resistance, the Irish batter struggled to build momentum, lost wickets at regular intervals, and ended on 162-6. Gajanand Singh was named player of the match for his terrific knock.
‘We just weren’t good enough today and we deserved to lose’
“It started really well but from there it was pretty brutal stuff from us and not good enough. We knew it was a good wicket. And we would have to work hard for the 10 wickets if we were to get them. We didn’t create enough chances and we didn’t bowl well enough. They played brilliantly but we gave them a lot of bad balls to hit as well, which is disappointing. We just weren’t good enough today and we deserved to lose. The guys are obviously disappointed but they will want to turn it around tomorrow,” said Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie.
“This is a good start. We’ve been playing well for the last year and a half. Winning against bigger teams like Ireland will send out a good message across the country and the world.” USA spinner Nisarg Patel told AFP
The two sides will meet in another T20 on Thursday, 23rd December, then play three one-day internationals on December 26, 28, and 30. Ireland is 17th in the ICC T20 international rankings, 13 places ahead of the USA, who sit in the 30th spot.
