Calcutta: West Indies became only the second team in ICC World Twenty20 history to advance beyond the league phase without registering a win when their final Group B clash, against Ireland, in Colombo was abandoned on Monday. England progressed in similar fashion in 2010 and went on to win the competition.
West Indies and Ireland, who had both lost to Australia in their opening matches, finished on one point apiece, but West Indies went through on better run rate.
West Indies finished on a net run rate of -1.854 to Ireland’s -2.092 to secure their Super Eights place.
They will now travel to Pallekele to take on England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in their bid to qualify for the semi-final.
Interestingly enough, rain had prevented West Indies’ first match too from running its full course, as Australia emerged winners by 17 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Ireland, who needed nothing less than a victory to move into the next stage, had found their way to 129 for 6 in what was to have been a 19-overs-a-side match after a rain interruption five overs into the Irish innings.
Play began on schedule but 54 minutes were lost due to that first stoppage, forcing a reduction in the number of overs. It started to rain again during the ten-minute break between innings and West Indies couldn’t come out for the chase, even though it had to bat only five overs for the game to be considered complete.
Just for the record, West Indies would have needed 44 for victory had its chase been reduced to five overs. Ireland’s innings never got any thrust after it was put in by Darren Sammy, its cause not helped by a second successive first-ball dismissal for William Porterfield, the captain.
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