Orla Prendergast’s all-round show orchestrates Ireland’s historic, series-leveling win in a penultimate ball thriller against England.
The visitors, England led by skipper Kate Cross sealed a massive 67-run victory in the 1st T20I against Ireland. Bryony Smith was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant performance (58 off 30 balls) with the bat.
Ireland skipper Gaby Lewis won the toss and elected to field first in the 2nd and final T20I of the series at Castle Avenue, Dublin. After being inserted to bat first, the England openers Tammy Beaumont and Bryony Smith got their side off to a good start with a 44-run opening partnership, scoring at a rate of over 7 runs an over in the powerplay.
Arlene Kelly picked up the wicket of Bryony Smith to provide the first breakthrough for Ireland. Wicket-keeper batter Seren Smale joined Tammy Beaumont at the crease and the duo stitched a 20-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side past the 50-run mark. Aimee Maguire picked up the wicket of wicket-keeper batter Seren Smale to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Paige Scholfield joined Tammy Beaumont at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 59-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 120-run mark. Ireland managed to put the brakes on their scoring as they picked up a couple of wickets in quick succession. Maddy Villiers joined Georgia Adams at the crease and the duo stitched a 16-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side past the 150-run mark.
Orla Prendergast cleaned up Georgia Adams to provide the 6th breakthrough for Ireland. England eventually ended up with a total of 169/8 in their quota of 20 overs. Tammy Beaumont (40 off 34 balls), Paige Scholfield (34 off 21 balls), Bryony Smith (28 off 26 balls), and Georgia Adams (23 off 15 balls) were the top performers with the bat for England. Arlene Kelly (4-0-22-2), Orla Prendergast (4-0-31-2), and Aimee Maguire (4-0-32-2) were the top performers with the ball for Ireland.
Chasing a target of 170, Ireland got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of their wicket-keeper batter Amy Hunter in the first over of the run chase with skipper Kate Cross providing the first breakthrough for England. Orla Prendergast joined skipper Gaby Lewis at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 79-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side close to the 100-run mark. Ryana MacDonald-Gay cleaned up the opposition skipper Gaby Lewis to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Leah Paul joined Orla Prendergast at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 82-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side on the brink of a historic victory against England in the T20I format. Skipper Kate Cross returned and picked up the wicket of Orla Prendergast to provide the 3rd breakthrough for England.
Ireland eventually managed to get over the line with five wickets in hand and one ball to spare in a last-over thriller. The home side leveled the 2-match T20I series with their maiden victory against England in the T20I format. Orla Prendergast (80 off 51 balls), skipper Gaby Lewis (38 off 35 balls), and Leah Paul (27 off 27 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Ireland.
Skipper Kate Cross (4-0-29-2), Maddy Villiers (3.5-0-31-2), Ryana MacDonald-Gay (2-0-25-1), and Georgia Adams (3-0-16-0) were the top performers with the ball for England. Orla Prendergast was awarded the Player of the Series for her sensational all-round performance. She returned with match figures (4-0-31-2), with the ball and scored a brilliant match-winning half-century (80 off 51 balls) with the bat.
She played a pivotal role in helping her side square the two-match T20I series against England. She was also awarded the Player of the Series for her brilliant performances, (52 off 34 balls, and 80 off 51 balls) scoring 132 runs in a couple of innings with the bat and also picking up a couple of wickets with the ball in the series.