MUHAMMAD USMAN AWAN
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| Ireland vs England match icc world cup 2011 and ireland win |
Ireland win by three wickets Kevin O'Brien has made history for Ireland. The dreams of 2007 have been eclipsed by this record chase, powered by a record hundred. England's bowling and fielding was shoddy again, but they were backed into a corner and knocked out by the hulking power of Kevin O'Brien. Group B has been smashed open with this result! They should play all matches in Bangalore, it has treated us to two of the best games of 50-over cricket you could ever wish to see.
It's the bowling that will be highlighted by England's batting finished with a whimper. If any IPL scouts are watching though, there is one man you want after toady, Kevin O'Brien. Not only was he powerful and technical but so smart. All the Irish batsmen were so calm, calculating the necessary under intense pressure. You can see where Eoin Morgan gets it from.
You can see the best photos from this heady, crazed game on our gallery and soon enough, Andrew McGlashan will finish a dramatic rewrite of his bulletin.
Andrew Strauss, unsurprisingly, looks exhausted but is putting a brave face on it. "We thought we had done a reasonable job with the bat and also with the ball initially. We weren't expecting such an innings from Kevin O'Brien. Our WC dreams are not over yet, we need to set things right soon. Kevin O'Brien played really well and made the most of the powerplay. They deserve the victory, we can't do much but to lick our wounds. We have a couple of niggles, KP and Swann got injured today, hopefully they will be fit for the next game."
There won't be many happier men than William Porterfield and he's beaming as he declares this the best night in Irish cricket history. "It has been the greatest day of our lives, the best performance that we have put up," he says. "We believed in ourselves, Kevin O'Brien was brilliant. We knew that we are capable of winning, we believed in ourselves. Cusack and Mooney too chipped in and credit to the lads for their effort. We have still got four games left, hoping to repeat such performances and stay in the race."
Kevin O'Brien has treated us to one of the great World Cup innings and is named Man of the Match. And the biggest moment of his life, on the greatest stage, he looks ridiculous with his died purple and bleach-blonde hair. Doubt he'll care though: "Not able to believe it, I am quite speechless. I got a bit of luck and things went my way. If we would have gotten out soon, it would have been a boring game for the supporters and so I decided to chance my arm, it paid off." Congrats to anyone who put him in your Fantasy team. Yet again, it's been a stunner in Bangalore. I'm off for a lie down.
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