West Indies vs Ireland, 2020: 1st T20I – Stirling's record knock, Highest-scoring T20I in the Caribbean, A record opening stand and more stats

Ireland finally tasted success on their tour of West Indies as they defeated the hosts by four runs in the first of the 3-match T20I series. The Irish opening pair of Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien went berserk in the powerplay scoring 93 runs. The duo added 154 for the first wicket in only 12.3 overs after electing to bat first. Stirling scored 95 from 47 deliveries as the visitors finished on 208/7.

The 29-ball 53 from Evin Lewis was the major contribution for West Indies whose top six batters scored 20+ runs. Dwayne Bravo, playing in his first International game since September 2016, got out on the penultimate ball when the hosts needed five runs in the bowling of Josh Little. The final delivery was a dot ball as Ireland sneaked in a 4-run win against the Men’s T20 World Cup holders.

All the statistical highlights from Ireland narrow win in a high-scoring thriller against West Indies:

West Indies’ losing streak at home:

5 – West Indies now have lost each of their last five T20I matches at home. West Indies’ last T20I win in the Caribbean Islands came in July 2018 against Bangladesh. West Indies never lost more than three successive T20Is at home before this streak.

A rare high-scoring T20I in West Indies:

0 – Number of 200+ totals recorded in a T20I hosted by West Indies before this match. Ireland made 208/7 while West Indies finished with 204/6 on Wednesday. The previous highest T20 total in West Indies was Australia’s 197/7 during the WT20 2010 semi-final against Pakistan while chasing a target of 192.

27 – Number of sixes hit by both the teams during this match – 12 by Ireland and 15 by West Indies. These are the most sixes hit during a T20I game hosted by the West Indies. The previous most sixes during a T20I in the Caribbean Islands was 24 maximums in the 2010 WT20 game between India and Australia.

The greatest of starts for Ireland:

93 – Ireland scored 93 runs during their first six overs in this match; the most number of runs aggregated by any team in a T20I (Where known). The previous most runs scored by a team in the mandatory powerplay (1-6 overs) of a T20I was 91 runs on four different instances.

A record knock by Stirling:

8 – Number of sixes hit by Paul Stirling during his 95-run knock; the most number of sixes in a T20I inning for Ireland. Stirling himself hit 7 sixes during his unbeaten 83 against Zimbabwe last year at home while Kevin O’Brien also struck 7 maximums during his century against Hong Kong in 2019.

95 – The 95-run knock by Paul Stirling is now the 2nd highest individual score in T20I cricket for Ireland. Only Kevin O’Brien (124 vs Hong Kong in 2019) scored more runs in a T20I inning for the Irish team.

95 – Stirling’s 95 is now the 2nd highest individual score in the T20I format against West Indies in the West Indies. The highest is recorded by Mahela Jayawardene who scored 98* in the 2010 WT20 match at the Bridgetown.

20 – Paul Stirling brought up his fifty in 20 balls; the 2nd fastest T20I fifty for Ireland. The fastest T20I fifty for the Irish team came off 17 balls also by Stirling during the WT20 Qualifier Final against Afghanistan in 2012. His half-century in 21 balls against Kenya during the 2012 tournament is now the 3rd fastest T20I for the Irish side in T20Is.

A record stand between Stirling and O’Brien:

154 – The 154-run opening stand between Stirling and Kevin O’Brien was Ireland’s maiden 150+ partnership for any wicket in T20I cricket. Ireland’s previous highest stand was recorded by this duo only who shared a 126-run opening partnership during the last year’s T20I against Afghanistan.

Milestones for Simmons and Stirling:

1012 – Lendl Simmons completed 1000 runs in the T20I cricket when he went past his individual score of 10. He is only the 5th West Indies player with 1000+ T20I runs in Men’s cricket.

2024 – Paul Stirling became the first player from Ireland and overall the 8th player in Men’s T20I cricket to complete 2000 runs. Stirling was only 71 runs away from achieving this milestone before the start of the match.

Contributions galore for the home team:

6 – West Indies became only the 3rd team in T20I history to have as many as six players crossing 20 runs in a match. England in the 2013 Auckland T20I and India during the 2019 Hamilton T20I achieved this feat against New Zealand.

A tough game with the ball for McCarthy and Dockrell:

1 – Barry McCarthy (55) and George Dockrell (51) became the first Ireland pair to concede 50+ runs in a T20I. Overall, this was the 17th instance of two or more bowlers conceding 50+ runs in a T20I inning.

3 – This was the 3rd instance of Barry McCarthy conceding 50+ runs in a T20I match. He is the 3rd player in T20I cricket to concede 50+ runs in an inning on three different occasions. Zimbabwe’s Christopher Mpofu and Bangladesh’s Rubel Hossain also conceded 50+ runs in a T20I on three instances.