It's definitely hurting: Nicholas Pooran after West Indies' shocking exit from T20 World Cup 2022

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran was dejected after Ireland thrashed the two-time champions by nine wickets in the T20 World Cup 2022 on Friday. West Indies were knocked out from the qualifiers as Ireland booked their spot in the Super 12 stage of the competition after a brilliant all-round performance at the Bellerive Oval.

Once a giant in T20Is, two-time winners West Indies appeared a mere shadow of their former self in the ongoing tournament. With the likes of Andre Rusell, Shimron Hetmyer and Sunil Narine among others not in the squad, the Nicholas Pooran-led side succumbed under pressure against Ireland.

Batting first in the all-important encounter, West Indies' top-order flopped as opener Kyle Mayers (1) and Evin Lewis (3) were both dismissed cheaply. The likes of Pooran, Rovman Powell and Odean Smith too failed to make an impact as Brandon King's brilliant 62 off 48 balls helped them post 146/5 on the board in 20 overs.

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In reply, Ireland chased down the target with 15 balls to spare riding on Paul Stirling's 66 off 48 balls and crucial knocks from skipper Andrew Balbirine (37) and Loran Tucker (45). West Indies's defeat meant they have failed to make it to the Super 12 stage for the first time in the history of the competition.

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Reacting to his team's shocking defeat, West Indies skipper Pooran couldn't control his tears at the post-match presentation as he apologised to the fans back home for their disappointing show.

"It's tough,we haven't batted well in this tournament and didn't today either. Coming here and defending 145 was really difficult. Asking the bowlers to defend the total was really going to be a challenge. Congratulations to Ireland, I think they batted fantastically and bowled well," the West Indies captain said.

"There's a lot of positives Brandon King is batting well, Alzarri stepped up. But we are disappointed and have disappointed the fans back home. It is definitely hurting. I am definitely disappointed. We live to see another day," he added.

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West Indies, who won the T20 World Cup titles in 2012 and 2016, have now failed to make it to the knockout stages of the competition twice in a row. They were dumped out from the Super 12 stage in the T20 World Cup last year and have failed to qualify for the Super 12 this time around.