Ireland cricket team is known for producing the biggest upsets in the game’s history; from the famous victory over England in 2011 World Cup to defeating the T20 defending champions West Indies in 2020, the Irish team has proved over and over again that they are a side not to be taken lightly.

The team made highlights earlier this week (13th July) with their first-ever ODI win over South Africa in the second ODI of the series, taking an unassailable lead of 1-0 as the first ODI was washed out due to rain.

The final game of the series on Friday (16th July) was a must win for South Africa who eventually got over the line courtesy of some clinical batting performances from Janneman Malan and Quinton de Kock but still the highlight of the day went to Ireland as they not only drew the series 1-1 but also registered a new record.

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Simi Singh, the Indian born Irish all-rounder made headlines scoring an unbeaten century while batting at number eight, and in doing so became the first-ever in world cricket to register this feat.

Before this, the highest score for a player batting at number eight in ODI cricket was 84 by Kenya’s Thomas Odoyo against Bangladesh in 2006.

Though Ireland lost the game by 70 runs but the innings from Singh brought some moments for the home fans to enjoy as he smoked 14 boundaries in that innings. This was Simi’s maiden century in international cricket and before this he also dismissed the other centurion from the Proteas side, de Kock.

The two teams will now head into the T20 action with a three-match T20I series, starting 19th July. Ireland will next host Zimbabwe for the limited-overs action before moving into the ICC T20 World Cup, where they will play in Group A to qualify for a spot in Super 12’s.