New Delhi: History repeats itself as Ireland beats England in the ongoing T20 World Cup. It was not a cracking chase as in the 2011 World Cup, but rather a rain-hit game where England landed 5 runs short and lost due to the DLS method. After thrashing West Indies in the group stage, Ireland has beaten one of the strongest contenders of the cup this year.
In the game, Paul Stirling and captain Andy Balbirnie gave a quick start to Ireland, but it did not look that quick due to the rain interruptions. Mark Wood’s delivery clocking 150+ kmph dismissed Stirling for 14(8). It did not stop the Irishmen Lorcan Tucker and Balbirnie laid an 82-run stand. Tucker’s run-out and a wicket by Mark Wood brought England back into the game. Captain Andy Balbirnie went on to score 62 off 47 deliveries and helped Ireland reach a total of 157 on a track with overcast conditions. Mark Wood’s three wickets along with Liam Livingstone picking three helped their side to stop Ireland who looked to score 170+.
It was not an easy chase and England started with a duck from captain Jos Buttler. Josh Little struck again and picked Alex Hales to leave England 14/2. Fionn Hand, who did not play the last game, picked Ben Stokes’ wicket in the powerplay. With the top order collapsing, Dawid Malan and Harry Brooks tried to build something for their side. After both the batters were caught, Moeen Ali came and played a brilliant knock of 24* off 12 as the par score is your target in the rain-hit games. However, England stood 5 runs short when it started raining again and the match officials called off the game to hand Ireland a memorable victory.
After a battle between two Asian neighbours, it was a cracking and fun clash between two European neighbours. Ireland, being the underdogs, is proving everyone wrong and England, who were the favourites in the tournament, have a lot to ponder upon.
