Orla Prendergast stars in Ireland's first ever T20I win over WI

In Ireland Women's first T20I victory over the West Indies, Orla Prendergast put on a show with both the bat and the ball. Prendergast picked up a couple of wickets before smashing an unbeaten 71 in the run chase as Ireland toppled West Indies by one run via DLS in the tri-series encounter that has now given them a great chance of reaching the final.

Ava Canning struck twice in the Powerplay to give West Indies a bad start with the bat. Within five overs, with the top order back in the pavilion, West Indies lacked any kind of momentum. Things went from bad to worse when Stafanie Taylor left the field retired hurt just a few balls after a run out pegged West Indies back. At the halfway mark, they were reeling at 53/4 (effectively 5 down), needing a big lift in the second half.

That lift arrived to an extent on the back of a crucial partnership between Jannillea Glasgow and Shemaine Campbelle. Those two picked up a boundary each early in the innings to get going and helped West Indies recover. With five overs left, Campbelle was sent back to the pavilion and Prendergast struck twice at the death as well. West Indies eventually passed the 140-run mark thanks to three lower order batters scoring boundaries.

After that, Shawnisha Hector eliminated both of the Irish openers within the first four deliveries of the run chase, making 141 seem like a lofty goal. That brought Prendergast to the crease, where she put on a fantastic performance as Ireland's leader. The skipper went on a boundary spree on her 24th birthday, with Rebecca Stokell simply watching from the sidelines.

After that, Ireland were in trouble at 65/5 when West Indies struck three times in a row, causing panic in the opposing dugout. However, Prendergast continued his charge. In what turned out to be a thrilling finish, Ireland were 95/5 after 14 overs with Prendergast scoring 71 of those by herself and at that point, they were three runs behind via DLS. With the heavens opening up, the umpires still persisted for one delivery to be bowled which was edged for a boundary in dramatic fashion by Louise Little. Ireland was able to pull off a stunning victory because the players were forced off the field as the rain got worse and they never came back.