How one lapse from Oman turned things around for Tucker and Ireland

Sometimes all it takes is the vagaries of a rulebook to transform your fortunes. Lorcan Tucker was done for. Against Oman on Saturday morning, Tucker, while batting on 18, had overbalanced as Aamir Kaleem slid one down leg, and by the time he spun around and plonked his bat over the line, the bails had been whipped off by wicketkeeper Vinayak Shukla.

Looking up at the giant screen, a look of resignation sat upon Tucker's face. But then, suddenly, came a moment of relief that only sport can provide. Ireland have been handing lifelines right throughout the tournament courtesy of their profligate catching, but here it was a karmic return.

No, not a dropped catch or a missed stumping, but a technicality buried in the dry ink of Law 29.2.1.5. As it turned out, Shukla broke the stumps with the glove that wasn't holding the ball, whereas the glove that was actually holding it was only touching the glove that broke the stumps. And in that fleeting lapse of physical coordination, perhaps the trajectory of Ireland's tournament shifted.

As the stadium DJ blared Irish folk-music-inspired electronica through the thumping speakers on the SSC periphery, and the small army of Irish fans in attendance frolicked among a smattering of locals, Tucker began orchestrating a vibe out in the middle.

Tucker's batting is defined by its clean aggression. Whether it is using the ramp and sweep to negate spinners, or anchoring a Test innings under pressure, he is Ireland's man for a crisis. And against Oman, that mantle was once more put to the test.

Coming in at 25 for 2 in the third over, Ireland had stumbled after a fast start. By the end of the powerplay, the scorecard read 47 for 3, and before long, it was 64 for 4 with less than eight overs completed. The runs were slowing down, and Oman were steadily chipping away. But two overs after Tucker's lucky reprieve, the gears ground into place. Gareth Delany sent a monster hit screaming over long-on, but it was Tucker's follow-up - a dismissive, powerful slog sweep - that acted as the signal fire.

That 11th over was the tipping point. It went for 15 runs, the first of seven double-digit salvos that would leave the Omani bowlers looking less like professional athletes and more like men trying to hold back a flood with a chain-link fence. Ireland plundered 156 runs off the final ten overs. It was a statistical assault, with Tucker accounting for 60 of those runs in a display of rhythmic, unrelenting timing.

The disbelief on Shukla's face from earlier had curdled into sheer horror. Every time he looked up, Tucker was there, a constant reminder of a split-second error that had likely cost his side the match.

By the time the final over arrived, the narrative seemed set for a fairytale: a maiden T20I century for the stand-in skipper. Tucker sat on 91, the milestone within a two swings of a blade. But cricket is rarely so scripted.

George Dockrell, sensing the Omanis were spent, decided to provide the crescendo. Taking the strike for the final four balls, Dockrell went bang, bang, bang. Over midwicket, long-on, and cover, the ball disappeared. But his 35 off nine balls was the sort of violent, free-wheeling cameo only made possible by the previous hour Tucker had spent meticulously building the foundation.

Tucker finished on 94 not out, an eerily precise echo of his previous career-best against Austria - also off 51 deliveries. But the context rendered the comparison hollow. That 94* was a statistic in a qualifier; this 94* was a statement of intent on the world stage.

As he walked off, the Irish fans in the stands gave the speakers a run. He had walked onto the pitch as a deputy for the injured Paul Stirling, and was thus a man filling a void. But Tucker walked off as the highest-scoring Irishman in T20 World Cup history, and with it, their highest total at a T20 World Cup.

"Lorcan's had a great day out. First day up obviously as captain in unforeseen circumstances, but I think that shows how he's grown as a leader," head coach Heinrich Malan said after the game. "His presence around the group is not necessarily shouting from the rooftops, but he leads through action."

And in the heat of Colombo, amid the peculiarities of rulebooks and thumping electronica, Tucker did indeed show that while Stirling's shoes are massive to fill, he has a stride all his own.