Ireland reach Super 12, dump West Indies out of T20 World Cup

Veteran opener Paul Stirling slammed an unbeaten 66 as Ireland made the Twenty20 World Cup Super 12 on Friday and sent the two-time champions West Indies crashing out in a stunning upset.

Disciplined bowling restricted the Caribbean side to 146-5, with Gareth Delany taking a career-best 3-16, before the Irish romped to their target for the loss of just one wicket with 15 balls to spare in Hobart.

Stirling, at his seventh World Cup, shared in a blistering 73-run opening stand with captain Andy Balbirnie to supercharge Ireland's run chase.

What it means! ??A memorable day for Ireland as they progress to the Super 12 ??#T20WorldCup | #IREvWI pic.twitter.com/7NPtlYd3Ph

The final Super 12 slot will be decided later Friday when Zimbabwe meet Scotland.

The West Indies won the tournament in 2012 and 2016 but came to Australia with a new-look team after the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard retired, and Andre Russell was overlooked.

They stumbled badly in their opening match against Scotland, crashing by 42 runs, before recovering to emphatically beat Zimbabwe.

But in Ireland, who are playing in their seventh straight World Cup and had only been beyond the first round once before, in 2009, they again hit the wall.

After the West Indies won the toss and batted at a breezy Bellerive Oval in Hobart, the Irish bowlers sent down nine dot balls among their first 15.

In frustration, Kyle Mayers launched at a delivery from Barry McCarthy and was caught by Harry Tector at mid-off for one.

The dangerous Johnson Charles slammed 4-4-6 off Curtis Campher but his luck ran out in the next over, slicing to Campher off spinner Simi Singh for 24.

Brandon King, who missed the West Indies' last game with illness, was dropped two balls later