Buoyed Ireland eye rare series win
Overview
West Indies v Ireland
2nd T20I
Warner Park, Basseterre
Saturday, 18 January; 6pm local, 10pm GMT
Ireland last won a bilateral T20I series way back in 2016 against Papua New Guinea. Since then they have won only 18 of their 44 completed matches.
Their record has been less than flattering but they have a chance to make a statement by defeating world champions West Indies in one of their next two matches to claim the series.
IRELAND WIN BY 4️⃣ RUNS!
— ICC (@ICC) January 15, 2020
Josh Little holds his nerve in the final over despite a Dwayne Bravo six, taking two wickets and conceding eight – what a win, what a game!#WIvIRE pic.twitter.com/3KU81VLTMi
In order to do that, the visitors will want their batsmen to fire in a manner similar to what they did in the first game. They will also hope for a better performance from the spinners, who hemorrhaged runs in the first game, allowing West Indies to get within touching distance of a mammoth target.
West Indies will know that a few minor tweaks in the bowling department will go a long way to help resume their winning ways against Ireland this series. Kesrick Williams, who had a rare off-day conceding 48 runs from three overs in Grenada, will look to set things right.
Remember the last time
Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien, the experienced opening pair, were at their belligerent best, putting on a stunning 154-run stand to set the tone. They struck 10 sixes between them as well as 10 fours. While O'Brien got out two short of a fifty, Stirling scored almost twice as many, falling five short of a century. West Indies were able to pull things back a touch after dismissing them to keep the total down to 208-7.
Paul Stirling 9⃣5⃣
— ICC (@ICC) January 15, 2020
Kevin O'Brien 4⃣8⃣
A great comeback from West Indies' bowlers but Ireland still finish strongly on 208-7, with these two having doing plenty of damage 💪#WIvIRE https://t.co/PhIv4kRCDy
Evin Lewis was the star of West Indies' chase, scoring a 29-ball 53. But the hosts kept losing wickets, which dented their chances. Joshua Little and Craig Young took five wickets between them.
What they said
**Kevin O'Brien (Ireland):**To go ahead 1-0 in an away series against one of the best teams in the world is special. We can create history in the next two games by winning an away series.
Conditions
Weather is expected to be clear and pleasant for the second T20I in Basseterre. The pitch tends to have something in it for the seamers. In their two matches here against England in 2019, West Indies were bowled out for 45 and 71.
