Colombo, February 14 – A masterful batting performance by captain Lorcan Tucker, followed by an impressive bowling display by Joshua Little, propelled Ireland to a resounding 96-run victory over Oman in a crucial Group B match of the 2026 T20 World Cup, held at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Saturday.
Having won the toss, captain Tucker (94), Gareth Delany (56), and George Dockrell (35) guided Ireland to a formidable total of 235/5, the highest score in this edition of the T20 World Cup and the second highest overall. Later, Joshua Little (3-16), Matthew Humphreys (2-27), and Barry McCarthy (2-32) restricted Oman to 139 in 18 overs, securing the win.
In their pursuit of 236, Oman started strongly, scoring 21 runs in the first two overs with captain Jatinder Singh and Aamir Kaleem in good form. However, Ireland struck back in the third over, dismissing both Jatinder and Ashish Odedara in quick succession.
Experienced batter Aamir then formed a 73-run partnership with Hammad Mirza. The pair adopted a aggressive approach to maintain a good run rate and put pressure on the opposition.
As Oman approached the 100-run mark in the 11th over, Ireland bounced back with their bowling, first dismissing Aamir, who had scored a fifty in just 28 balls. Notably, at the age of 44 years and 81 days, Amir became the oldest player in T20 World Cup history to achieve this feat. He also hit five fours and two sixes during his innings.
Following Aamir's dismissal, Oman's innings faltered, with five wickets falling in the next three overs. Mirza also fell for 46 runs off 37 balls.
With Oman at 124/9 at the end of the 16th over, Barry McCarthy sealed the victory by dismissing Sufyan Mehmood in the 18th over.
Earlier, Ireland had a poor start, as Oman's prime bowler Shakeel Ahmed took three wickets in the powerplay, leaving Ireland at 47/3 after the first six overs.
Despite a shaky start, Ireland hoped to recover. However, Oman's most experienced player, Aamir Kaleem, sent Curtis Campher (12) back to the pavilion in the 8th over. With the team at 67/4 at the end of the 8th over, Ireland captain Tucker and Gareth Delany forged a historic 165-run partnership, helping the team mount a remarkable comeback and reach a massive total.
Delany scored 56 runs off just 30 balls and hit three fours and four sixes during his innings. He also completed his first fifty in the tournament in just 30 balls.
Skipper Lorcan Tucker brought up his fifty in just 35 balls with a four. Tucker then continued his innings, scoring 44 runs off the next 16 balls he faced after reaching the 50-run mark. Tucker fell just six runs short of a century, finishing unbeaten on 94. Tucker hit ten fours and four sixes during his innings.
Finisher Dockrell played a splendid knock of 35 runs off just nine balls. He hit five sixes, three of which came in the last three balls of the innings, to help Ireland reach the historic total.
Brief Scores:
Ireland 235/5 in 20 overs (Lorcan Tucker 94, Gareth Delany 56, George Dockrell 35; Shakeel Ahmed 3-33, Aamir Kaleem 1-29) beat Oman all out for 139 in 18 overs (Aamir Kaleem 50, Hammad Mirza 46; Joshua Little 3-16, Matthew Humphreys 2-27, Barry McCarthy 2-32) by 96 runs.
