IRE vs ENG | Salt mayhem makes light work of imposing 197-run total in Dublin to take England 1-0 up
England cruised to victory in the first of three T20Is against Ireland, at Malahide on Wednesday, to hand Jacob Bethell a positive start to his captaincy career. Fifties from Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker took Ireland to 196 before Phil Salt's 46-ball 89 helped chase it down with 14 balls to spare.
Asked to bat first, Ireland got off to a statement making start as Paul Stirling crucnhed the match's first legal delivery towards the cover boundary for four. However, controlled swing from Luke Wood and challenging lengths from Jamie Overton made the hosts work hard for their runs, with Ross Adair particularly struggling even as he tried to break free of the shackles by dancing down the tracks time and again. The hammer finally dropped for Adair in the sixth over as he smashed Overton for two boundaries and a maximum to take the powerplay score to an impressive 49/0. Stirling took the stand beyond fifty with a commanding six the very next ball but the belligerence did not last long as Liam Dawson had Adair holed out for a nearly run-a-ball 26 in the eighth over. Stirling fell victim seven balls to Adil Rashid in similar fashion, his knock a much more aggressive 22-ball 34, bringing two new batters Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker to the crease. Nevertheless, an early six and four from Tector helped allay Irish nerves, with the score at the halfway mark 84/2. The duo took their to bed in but not without the occassional boundary, as the stand stretched past fifty in the 14th over to set the stage for a grand finish. The fireworks began with Tector greeting Wood back into the attack with a dismissive four in an over that went for 15, and the momentum brought them 30 off the next three overs despite just two more boundaries. Tector brought up his half-century off 31 deliveries, and celebrated the milestone by banishing Sam Curran for a maximum in an 18-run penultimate over. Tector brought up his own fifty with a six off Overton the next over and even though the speedster had the last laugh by ending the 123-run stand, George Dockrell ensured a gargantuan finish with a six on the final ball to take Ireland to 196/7.
In response, Phil Salt and Jos Buttler began with their usual tempo, fresh off turbocharging England towards a 300-plus total in their previous encounter against South Africa. The wicket-keeping batting duo struck a boundary each in the opening over, before Salt entered beast mode to slam two maximums and a boundary in the very next over. Buttler, keen to show he had the wares too, outdid him in grand style with four boundaries and a maximum to follow in the third and by the time he departed for a 10-ball 28 in the fifth over, the score already read a dreary 74/1. The wicket did little to impact Salt's momentum as the opener brought up a 21-ball fifty on the final ball of the powerplay, covering up for a scratchy start to captaincy debutant Jacob Bethell. The skipper finally got into the party in the 10th over, accumulating 14 runs of the first three balls, but eventually ended up losing the battle to Tector as he departed for a 16-ball 24. The wicket of Rehan Ahmed soon after the halfway mark further dented the visitors but the opening blitzkrieg meant they required a paltry 60 runs in the final nine overs. Salt kept going his merry way to further reduce the deficit while Curran struck threee huge blows in his 27-run cameo, the former eventually departing for 89 off 46 with just 16 runs to get in four overs. Tom Banton struck off 10 with a couple of reverse sweeps but could not finish the job, unlike Overton who sealed proceedings with a boundary with 14 balls to spare.
Missed well deserved century
Scored 89 runs today with 10 fours and 4 sixes. Unfortunately missed his well-deserved 5th T20I century ❤️🩹
— KKR Karavan (@KkrKaravan)
On fire!
Phil salt dominating against ireland
— Manas (@ManasGa07252229)
🏴🇮🇪
Chased!
Phil Salt goes berserk! 🔥 20-ball fifty in a 197 chase vs Ireland. England flying at 13.7 RR after the powerplay! 🚀
— Akaran.A (@Akaran_1)
Well played!
Played salty🩷
— harper (@sangavixvk)
Great !
and wow Philip Salt another fantastic 89(46)
— Adv. Banti Kumar (@BantiKu28513778)
Blasted!
🚨 FIRING START BY ENGLAND 🤯
— Rana Ahmed (@RanaAhmad056)
- JOS BUTLER AND PHIL SALT ON THE CHARGE...🤯
Power hitter!
Phil salt continue his aggression and smash a powerful half century in just 20 balls against Ireland
— Shiv (@shiv5550yad)
It’s called power hitting
Missed!
Well Played Salty 89(45). Missed well deserved century 😔
— Fearless🦁 (@ViratTheLegend)
Congrats to Captain Jacob Bethell for starting with a W.
Captain!
Captain Jacob Graham Bethell 🐐❤️
— Prasanth VK¹⁸🇳🇵 (@Kohlifiedd18)
116-2 England
— The Cricline | 𝐓𝐂 (@TheCriclineX)
JACOB BETHELL SCORES 24 RUNS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DISMISSED BY HARRY TECTOR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bethell!
And they were hyping this Jacob Bethell...
— Sharon Solomon (@BSharan_6)
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