Ireland secured a remarkable 96-run victory over Oman in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, marking their first win of the tournament. With this win, Ireland has put themselves in contention for a spot in the next round in the closely fought Group B.
In a thrilling match at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, young bowler Joshua Little shone by taking three crucial wickets, supported by Matthew Humphreys and Barry McCarthy who each claimed two wickets. Oman, chasing a challenging target of 236 runs, was bowled out for 139 runs in 18 overs.
The match witnessed a tale of two halves, with Oman dominating early on before Ireland, led by captain Lorcan Tucker, unleashed a powerful batting display in the latter part of the game. Ireland recovered from a shaky start at 64/4 in 7.3 overs to post an impressive total of 235/5 in 20 overs, the highest score in this T20 World Cup and the second-highest in the history of the tournament.
Captain Lorcan Tucker’s unbeaten 94 runs marked the second-highest individual score by a captain in the T20 World Cup. The record for the highest score by a captain in a T20 World Cup match is held by West Indies’ Chris Gayle with 98 runs against India in 2010.
