Prendergast stars in Ireland's first ever T20I win over WI

Orla Prendergast put on a show with both bat and ball in Ireland Women's first ever win over the West Indies in T20Is. Prendergast picked up a couple of wickets before smashing an unbeaten 71 in the run chase as Ireland toppled West Indies by one run via DLS in the tri-series encounter that has now given them a great chance of reaching the final.

West Indies made a poor start with the bat with Ava Canning striking twice in the Powerplay. With the top order back in the pavilion inside five overs, West Indies struggled for any sort of momentum. Things went from bad to worse when Stafanie Taylor left the field retired hurt just a few balls after a run out pegged West Indies back. At the halfway mark, they were reeling at 53/4 (effectively 5 down), needing a big lift in the second half.

That lift arrived to an extent on the back of a crucial partnership between Jannillea Glasgow and Shemaine Campbelle. Those two picked up a boundary each early in the innings to get going and helped West Indies recover. With five overs left, Campbelle was sent back to the pavilion and Prendergast struck twice at the death as well. A boundary each from three lower order batters helped West Indies crawl past the 140-run mark eventually.

Shawnisha Hector then made 141 look like a tall order when she got rid of both the Irish openers within the first four deliveries of the run chase. That brought Prendergast out to the crease and she put on a stellar show, leading Ireland's charge. On her 24th birthday, the skipper went on a boundary spree with Rebecca Stokell just being a mute spectator at the other end.

West Indies then caused panic in the opposition dugout by striking thrice in quick succession to leave Ireland in trouble at 65/5 but Prendergast went on the charge again. In what turned out to be a thrilling finish, Ireland were 95/5 after 14 overs with Prendergast scoring 71 of those by herself and at that point, they were three runs behind via DLS. With the heavens opening up, the umpires still persisted for one delivery to be bowled which was edged for a boundary in dramatic fashion by Louise Little. As the rain intensified, the players were forced off the field and never returned, allowing Ireland to secure a stunning win.

Brief scores:West Indies 141/8 in 20 overs (Jannillea Glasgow 36; Ava Canning 2-11, Orla Prendergast 2-26) lost to Ireland 99/5 in 14.1 overs (Orla Prendergast 71*; Shawnisha Hector 2-21) by 1 run (via DLS)