• Ireland defeated England by 5 wickets (DLS Method) in a Super 12 game at the MCG.

  • Irish captain Andy Balbirnie was adjudged 'Player of the Match' for his 47-ball 62.

T20 World Cup: Cricket world reacts as Ireland stun England in Super 12 fixture at MCG
Ireland beat England by 5 runs (Photo Source: Twitter)

Minnows Ireland pulled off a huge upset on Wednesday, surprising number two-ranked England by five runs in a rain-affected match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Put in to bat first, Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie (62 off 47) guided his team to 92-1 in the first ten overs, but after a mid-order collapse, they got bundled out for 157 in 19.2 overs.

In reply, England slumped to 29-3 with just one boundary in the first five overs as the Irish pacers didn’t allow them to play big shots. After the powerplay overs, England tried to gain some momentum but lost the wickets of Harry Brook and Dawid Malan in the process.

Just when Moeen Ali was getting into his stride, rain halted the play, with England’s score reading 105-5 off 14.3 overs. Jos Buttler & Co. was five runs behind the DLS scoring method as the game was called off, giving Balbirnie’s men another famous victory in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

Ireland defeated West Indies in the first round and knocked them out of the tournament.

“We haven’t played a game here, to come and play the tournament favorites, with so many big names and to put on a show is very satisfying. We had a great week in Hobart and to do this was at one of the biggest grounds is pretty special,” said the Irish skipper Balbirnie in post-match presentation.

Here is how cricket fraternity reacted on Twitter:

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CATEGORY: Ireland T20 World Cup Twitter Reactions

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