Ireland missed a glorious chance to claim a first-ever series win against one of the "big boys' in world cricket when they failed to chase 97 in the second Twenty20 international against West Indies.
For the second successive game the bowlers produced a herculean performance, albeit on a Sabina Park pitch when the batsman on both sides struggled. Indeed, no West Indies batsmen reached 20, again, as Ireland restricted them to 96 for nine, but the world champions in the shortest format upped their game in the field and early wickets put Ireland under pressure, with which they couldn't cope.
Dwayne Bravo cuts down to third man
They slumped to 29 for five in the 11th over and there was no way back as the increasingly excited crowd got behind their team and only Gary Wilson's 35, including four of the seven boundaries in the innings, threatened to get Ireland over the line. When he was out 25 runs and 14 balls from home, it really was game up for Ireland.
It was all so unfair on the bowlers, particularly Alex Cusack who finished with career best T20 figures of four for 11. But they probably only had themselves to blame because from the start of their innings, there was a cautious approach which had not been evident when they chased 20 runs more, successfully, in Wednesday's six wicket victory.
It was a case of déjà vu as openers William Porterfield and Paul Stirling both went early, Porterfield, badly out of touch, using up 18 balls for five and when Ed Joyce was caught behind in the eight over, Ireland were in trouble at 22 for three.
Darren Sammy is run out
It was got worse, rapidly, as Andrew Poynter and Kevin O'Brien followed in the space of nine balls but although Wilson and Thompson took 19 off the next two overs, that ended with Thompson's wicket and after that the result was inevitable. Not one boundary was hit in the last 34 balls.
When Porterfield saw the West Indies team-sheet without Chris Gayle it probably made up his mind, if there was ever any doubt, that he would bowl first, if only to maintain the psychological pressure on the home team after their batting debacle on Wednesday.
In an almost identical start to the first match, West Indies hit two sixes in the first 16 balls of the innings and lost their first wicket in the fifth over. This time it was Cusack, in his 50th T20 match for Ireland, who struck with his first ball, having Gayle's replacement, Andre Fletcher, caught behind and it set the stage for the superlative bowling performance.
Ed Joyce edges to slip
Cusack, named man of the series, picked up his second wicket before he had conceded a run, thanks to a sensational catch by the captain. Porterfield was the only person in the ground who could have seen the rocket-like cut that came off Dwayne Smith's bat, but he was the only one who mattered, coming up with the ball before flicking it nonchantly back to the umpire.
It was not to be his last involvement in the field. When Dwayne Bravo set off looking for a quick single into the covers, Lendl Simmons knew better and Porterfield's throw was so good that bowler George Dockrell had time to take off the bails and run out another of the Windies' dangerous big-hitters.
Porterfield also ran out his opposite number, Darren Sammy, this time it was his partner, who called the impossible run, and left his captain stranded.
The bowlers meanwhile were accuracy personified, forcing the batsmen into these suicidal runs, with Kevin O'Brien, in particular, giving great support to Cusack. But in the end, the Ireland batsmen could not stand the heat as Sammy walked off with the man of the match.