Tucker and Gareth Delaney joined forces with Ireland reeling at 64/4. After playing themselves into rhtythm, the Irish went on the onslaught during a 101 parternship. Delaney scored 56 off 30 balls, with the help of three fours and four sixes.
The Irish captain may have snatched the game away from Oman, with a memorable innings of unbeaten 94 off just 51 balls, the highest individual score of this edition. It was George Dockrell who added the final flourish, scoring 35 off just nine balls, including three sixes off the last three balls of the innings. Ireland hit a total of 13 sixes and 21 fours and notched 86 runs in the last four overs.
Faced with a tall task, Oman stuttered at the start, losing captain Singh and Ashish Odedara in the third over.
There was a glimpse of hope for Oman when Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza were at the crease. They put on a brisk 73-run stand for the third wicket. While Kaleem scored 50 off 29, Mirza controbuted with 46 off 37. But Kaleem’s wicket seemed to break the Omani resistance as they slipped from 97/3 to 139 all out in 18 overs.
The Irish bowlers were in good nick on the day. Left-arm pacer Josh Little checked the middle and lower order with 3/16, while Matthew Humphreys and Ben McCarthy claimed two wickets each.
