Colombo, February 14 Left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmed bowled brilliantly, taking three wickets in his first three overs, but Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker's stunning 94 off 51 balls helped them defeat Oman by 235 runs in their Group B T20 World Cup match on Saturday.
Choosing to bowl, Oman started with spin, with five of the six Powerplay overs bowled by spinners. This tactic paid off early as Shakeel took three wickets in his three-over spell, reducing Ireland to 47 for 3.
He dismissed Tim Tector in the first over before getting rid of Ross Adair, who had briefly counterattacked with three fours off Shah Faisal. Harry Tector also fell to Shakeel in the fifth over, further damaging Ireland's innings.
Veteran Aamir Kaleem, the oldest player in the competition at 44, then tightened the screws further by dismissing Curtis Campher.
However, the momentum shifted dramatically once Tucker found his rhythm. The Ireland captain launched a fierce counterattack, smashing 10 fours and four sixes in an impressive innings.
Tucker and Gareth Delany (56) then put on a 101-run stand off 56 balls, regaining control of the match. Tucker then added another 70 runs off 19 balls with George Dockrell (35), whose nine-ball cameo included five towering sixes.
The attack continued relentlessly. Eighty-six runs came off the final four overs as Oman's bowlers struggled under sustained pressure.
Tucker, who had survived a stumping chance earlier in his innings, reached his half-century off 35 balls with a boundary off Kaleem. Delany matched the aggression, smashing back-to-back sixes off Jiten Ramanandi in the 15th over, which yielded 18 runs. He reached his fifty off 28 balls before falling to Shah Faisal in the 17th over.
Tucker continued the onslaught, smashing three sixes and two fours off Mohammad Nadeem in a 26-run over. The penultimate over also yielded 21 runs, with Dockrell joining the attack by clearing the ropes twice.
Dockrell then finished in style, hitting the final three deliveries for sixes as Ireland set a record-breaking total for the tournament.
