Evin Lewis and Alzarri Joseph starred with bat and ball in hand as West Indies defeated Ireland by five wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series on Tuesday (local time) here at Bridgetown.
Chasing 185, West Indies openers put on 27 runs for the first wicket. Ireland finally got the breakthrough in the sixth over as Shai Hope (13) was sent back to the pavilion by Barry McCarthy.
Brandon King then joined Evin Lewis in the middle and the duo put on 71 runs for the second wicket. King (20) was dismissed by Simi Singh in the 19th over, reducing West Indies to 98/2.
Ireland managed to take three wickets more, but Lewis stayed till the end to take the side over the line by five wickets with 100 balls remaining.
Lewis remained unbeaten on 99.
Earlier, West Indies displayed a spirited bowling performance to bundle out Ireland for a below-par score of 180.
Ireland batters did not manage to spring a solid partnership at the top of the order, and hence were restricted to 88/6 in the 23rd over. Of the first six wickets, Alzarri Joseph scalped three.
Lorcan Tucker and Mark Adair then put on 54 runs for the seventh wicket, but their resistance was cut short by Hayden Walsh as he dismissed Adair (29), reducing Ireland to 142/7.
Ireland managed to add just 28 runs more to their total and was bowled out inside 47 overs.
West Indies and Ireland will take on each other in the second ODI on January 9.
Brief Scores: West Indies 180/5 (Evin Lewis 99*, Brandon King 20, Simi Singh 2-44) defeat Ireland 180/10 (Lorcan Tucker 31, Mark Adair 29, Alzarri Joseph 4-32) by five wickets.
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