Ambris maiden century helps Windies secure record chase

Ambris’s 126-ball 148 was the highlight of West Indies five-wicket victory against Ireland in the Dublin ODI, on Saturday (May 11). West Indies successfully chased down the target of 328 in 47.5 overs.

Hope and Ambris provided a solid foundation with an opening stand of 84. Hope was the first to go. Boyd Rankin bagged his wicket. Soon there after Bravo headed back to the pavilion.

Ambris played freely despite the loss of quick wickets, hitting boundary after boundary and his partner Roston Chase also cashed in. Together the duo scored in excess of 100 runs for the third wicket.

Ireland picked up the prized wicket of Ambris when the Windies werein the ascendancy. Captain Holder and Carter steadied the ship, however just one run shy of victory Windies lost Holder. Carter scored the winning runs by hitting a boundary.

Winning the toss, Ireland decided to bat first and loss the early wicket of James McCollum.

With Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling at the crease, both built a partnership of 146. In so doing, Balbirnie compiled his half-century. He went on to score his fourth ODI ton (135) while Paul Stirling scored a half century. O’Brien also scored a half-century.

With the loss. Ireland won’t secure enough points to surpass Windies or Bangladesh. They will play their last game of the tournament against Bangladesh on May 15 in Dublin.

West Indies will play Bangladesh two more times.

Brief scores: Ireland 327/5 in 50 overs (Andrew Balbirnie 135, Paul Stirling 77; Shannon Gabriel 2-47) lost to West Indies 331/5 in 47.5 overs (Sunil Ambris 148, Roston Chase 46; Boyd Rankin 3-65) by 5 wickets.