Ireland thumped the highest score of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup so far as they kept their hopes of reaching the Super 8s alive with a 96-run win over Oman in Colombo.
Ireland piled on 235-5 – eclipsing the 225-5 Sri Lanka had clubbed against the same opposition – with 86 runs smashed from the final four overs, before Oman were rolled for 139 in 18 overs in reply.
George Dockrell (35no off nine balls) smoked five sixes, including from the final three deliveries of the innings, while stand-in Ireland skipper Lorcan Tucker (94no off 51; 10 fours, four sixes) top-scored as he carded the highest individual total of this year’s tournament.
Tucker – captaining his side after Paul Stirling’s World Cup was ended by a knee injury – and Gareth Delany (56 off 30) rescued Ireland from 64-4 in the eighth over with a fifth-wicket stand of 101 from 56 balls.
Oman crumbled after a fairly vibrant start in the chase, losing seven wickets for 24 runs from 97-2 in the 11th over once 44-year-old Aamir Kaleem (50 off 29 balls) was dismissed by Barry McCarthy (2-32), with Josh Little bagging 3-16 and McCarthy talking the final scalp after a stubborn 10th-wicket stand of 18.
Ireland, beaten by Sri Lanka and Australia across their first two games, could still finish in the top two of Group B if they defeat Zimbabwe in Pallekele on Tuesday and other results go their way.
Oman are now eliminated from Super 8s contention after a third straight defeat, with their campaign concluding against Australia in Pallekele on Friday in the final first-round fixture.
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Oman spinner Shakeel Ahmed unleashed the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo celebration after picking up a wicket against Ireland
Left arm-spinner Shakeel Ahmed (3-33) impressed for Oman in this latest loss, picking up three Ireland wickets inside the six-over powerplay, including openers Tim Tector (5) and Ross Adair (14).
When Shakeel then bowled Harry Tector with a beauty to reduce Ireland to 45-3 after five overs, he celebrated by performing Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark ‘Siuuu’ move.
Oman’s bowlers took some tap later on, with Shah Faisal’s 17th over flogged for 18 runs, Mohammad Nadeem’s 18th nailed for 26 as Tucker tonked five boundaries and then Jiten Ramanandi and Sufyan Mehmood shipping 21 apiece from the final two as Dockrell ran riot and powered Ireland to their highest T20I total.
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