Ireland Pull Of Yet Another Upset In T20 World Cup; Beat England By 5 Runs In Super 12 Match

Cricket Image for Ireland Pull Of Yet Another Upset In T20 World Cup; Beat England By 5 Runs In Supe (Image Source: Twitter)

ENG vs IRE T20 World Cup 2022: In yet another upset in this T20 World Cup, Ireland defeated neighbours England by 5 runs (DLS method) in a rain-affected match. This has widely opened Group 1 in Super 12 of the T20 World Cup 2022.

After a couple of rain delays in the first innings, Ireland posted 157 runs on the board before losing all their wickets in 19.2 overs. Captain Andrew Balbirnie was the top scorer with 62 runs off 47 balls, laced with 5 fours & 2 sixes.

After losing veteran Paul Stirling in the 3rd over, Balbirnie got along with Lorcan Tucker as these two etched a partnership of 82 runs in 57 balls which laid the foundation for a 150+ score. Tucker was dismissed after scoring 34 runs in 27 balls with 3 fours & a six. 

Thereon, Irish middle order and lower order couldn't do much. Harry Tector was dismissed for a 2-ball duck while George Dockrell was dismissed for a golden duck. Curtis Campher and Gareth Delany contributed with 18 and 12 runs respectively. For England, Mark Wood and Liam Livingstone grabbed 3 wickets each while Sam Curran picked up 2 wickets. Ben Stokes also managed 1 wicket to his name. 

In reply, England got off to a bad start as both openers - Jos Buttler (0) and Alex Hales (7) were dismissed inside the first 3 overs by Joshua Little. Fionn Hand then bowled a jaffa to clean up Ben Stokes (6) in the 6th over. Dawid Malan held the crease for a while as he scored 35 runs off 37 balls, while Harry Brook scored 18 runs off 21 balls. 

Batting at #6, Moeen Ali faced 12 balls and with a couple of meaty shots, scored 24* runs. England were at 105/5 in 14.3 overs when rain interrupted again and the match was decided on the DLS method, where Ireland were 5 runs ahead. 

Earlier, England captain Jos Buttler won the toss & opted to bowl first against Ireland in the Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup 2022. This match was played at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne. 

Brief Score:

• IRE – 157/10 in 19.2 overs (Balbirnie - 62(47), Livingstone - 3/17)
• ENG – 105/5 in 14.3 overs (Malan - 35(37), Joshua - 2/16)