T20 Cricket News

West Indies XI 152 for 4 (Sarwan 52, Hinds 38) beat Ireland 136 for 7 (Johnston 39, Rampaul 3-26) by 16 runs

Despite a spirited performance, Ireland were unable to deny West Indies XI a clean sweep of the three match Twenty20 series, as Ramnaresh Sarwan and Ravi Rampaul led the hosts to a 16-run win in the curtailed third fixture at Sabina Park on Sunday.

Sarwan, on a comeback trail after a four-month injury break, looked close to hitting top form, smashing four fours and three sixes in his 27-ball 52. His knock was at the centre of the hosts' recovery after Ireland drew first blood, running out Shivnarine Chanderpaul for a duck in the first over. Wavell Hinds and Andre Fletcher launched the innings with a stand of 39 off 27 balls, with the latter striking six fours in a score of 27. Hinds played second fiddle as Sarwan took over from Fletcher.

Sarwan fell in the 13th over to Alex Cusack, and Hinds departed two balls later, when Trent Johnston held a stunner at third man. That gave Darren Sammy an opportunity to finish the innings with an aggressive flourish that yielded 19 off 8 balls.

Despite cameos from William Porterfield and Johnston, Ireland were behind the eight-ball throughout the chase, losing wickets intermittently. Rampaul collected 3 for 26, as the visitors were restricted to 136 for 7 in their 15 overs.

West Indies XI had easy victories in the first couple of games, by margins of 31 and 18 runs respectively. The 3-0 result gives West Indies the upperhand going into the World Twenty20 that begins on April 30, where they are slotted in the same group as Ireland, with England being the third team.

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