Colombo, February 14 – Ireland captain and Player of the Match, Lorcan Tucker, said that his team's positive attitude helped them achieve a commanding 96-run victory over Oman in their third match of the 2026 T20 World Cup at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Saturday.
Coming off a disappointing performance in their previous game, Ireland bounced back in style, posting 235/5 in 20 overs before bowling out Oman for 139 in 18 overs. Tucker led the way with an unbeaten 94, narrowly missing out on a century, as later Joshua Little took 3-16 to seal an emphatic victory.
"Our previous game wasn't one of our best. Things didn't go our way, but we turned it around and played with positivity today. We knew they were a good side. We have played against them before, and we haven't always won. They are competitive. It is important to respect your opponent," Tucker said after the match.
Ireland lost early wickets after being put in to bat, but Tucker stitched together a match-defining 101-run partnership with Gareth Delany, who smashed 56 off 30 balls. George Dockrell then provided the late flourish with a nine-ball 35 to propel Ireland to the highest first-innings total of the ongoing tournament.
Reflecting on the batting effort, Tucker admitted that the power play was a mixed phase. "We hit a lot of boundaries and probably lost a few more wickets than we had planned. But we were just trying to keep the momentum going. The pitch was good, the outfield was quick, and we tried to capitalise where we could," he said.
Lorcan, who is captaining the side for the first time in the tournament, also spoke about the leadership role.
"It's maybe a little tougher than batting at the start. There's more responsibility, especially if we lose wickets early. I have grown into it and gotten more familiar with batting against spin through the middle. I had to put a lot of work in, but luckily it came off today," he said.
With the win significantly boosting Ireland's net run rate, Tucker believes the team remains in contention for the Super 8 stage.
"Morale is massive. We needed to come here and win today and put in a good performance. We are not out of the competition yet, but we need some things to go our way. A bit of a boost for our run rate won't do any harm," he added.
Ireland will play their last match in the group stage on February 17 against Zimbabwe at the Pallekele International Stadium.
