Ireland registers narrow win

Photo: India Today

Ireland maintained their trend of winning of close and exciting matches as they beat Zimbabwe by 5 runs in yet another close encounter. Ireland held their nerves just when it mattered and pulled off an important win particularly keeping in mind the current positions of the team in this group.

Zimbabwe won the toss and the Irishmen into bat. Ireland took advantage of that and posted a huge total of 331-8 in 50 overs. Ed Joyce (112) scored a brilliant hundred while Balbirnie after his half century against South Africa played a great innings but unfortunately got out on 97. Both of them put up a partnership of 138 runs for the second wicket and set the platform for a huge total. The middle order and lower order chipped in with useful contributions as Ireland’s total went past the 300-run mark. The Zimbabwean bowling was all the same in the death overs which helped Ireland in their cause. Poor death bowling made Zimbabwe pay once again which has been their problem since the tournament started in the last month.

Photo: AFP

However the batting was not at all up to the mark that could have compensated the poor bowling performance. It was yet again a poor start and it thwarted their run chase. But Brendan Taylor (121) and Sean Williams (96) tried to pull their team up and they took nation very close to the first victory in this year’s tournament. But the lower order could not keep their calm as Cusack picked up 2 wickets in the last over to provide Ireland a famous win. Cusack finished with the figures of 9.3-2-32-4. Others also gave him support. The fielding was good as well and it was the team effort that saw Ireland registering such a victory.

As it stand now in Group B a win for Ireland will be enough for them to qualify for the next round ahead of West Indies. Ireland have two matches in hand while West Indies have got one. And Ireland lead West Indies by 2 points. Even if Ireland lose their match against India, a win for them against UAE will see them through to the next round ahead of the Caribbeans. Things seem really ominous for the two time world champion West Indies as they not only need to win their game against UAE but also depend on the results of Ireland’s remaining games. It’s really getting exciting as we all know, as Geoffrey Boycott had once said, “Cricket is a funny game”.

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About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.