In the toss of the Group B competition between England and Ireland in the 2011 ODI World Cup, only a handful of people would have given the Irish team a chance. But Ireland not only played against England on 2 March 2011, but also established their reputation in international cricket. In a game where more than 650 runs were scored, a brilliant century from Kevin O’Brien led Ireland to their biggest upset of that World Cup.
England captain Andrew Strauss elected to bat after winning the toss at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Opening the innings, Strauss along with Kevin Pietersen gave his team a quick start. The duo completed an opening stand of 91 before Strauss was clean bowled by spinner George Dockrell in the 14th over.
After this, in the 17th over, Pietersen was dismissed after scoring 59 runs. Just as Ireland were sniffing a chance for a comeback, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott put the English team together. The batsmen added 157 runs for the third wicket while completing their half-century. John Mooney sent both the batsmen back to the pavilion. Bell made 81 before being caught out, while Mooney at the trot was clean bowled for 92 in a nervous 90s. England ended the innings with 327 runs.
While Chinnaswamy’s wicket still looked good to bat on, the pressure of a 300-plus score was enough to dampen any team’s confidence. And the wicket of captain William Porterfield on the very first ball of the innings made things more difficult for Ireland.
Though the latter got off to a good start, they failed to build a long innings on it. On the score of 111, half of Ireland’s team returned to the pavilion in the 25th over.
But then, Kevin O’Brien and Alex Cusack commanded a seemingly impossible run chase. The stitching partnership together not only prevented the fall of wickets but also ensured free flow of runs and Bryan led the task. The duo put on 162 runs for the sixth wicket before Cusack was dismissed for 47 in the 42nd over. Ireland were now looking for a win and Bryan was in no mood to let it slip.
Brian also completed his century with the support of Mooney at the other end. He took the Irish teams to the brink of a historic victory but before the team could cross the boundary, Bryan was run out in the 49th over.
But Mooney was still at the crease. With a boundary off the first ball of the final over, Ireland made the biggest upset in World Cup history and chased down a mammoth 328-run target set by England.
Get all the latest updates cricket news, cricket pictures, cricket videos, IPL Auction 2022 And cricket score Here