T20 World Cup: Ireland stun England by 5 runs via DLS method

Having stormed into Super 12 by eliminating two-time champions West Indies, Ireland rode on a sparkling 47-ball 62 by skipper Andy Balbirnie and looked for a 180-plus total before England dragged them back to bowl them out for 157 in 19.2 overs. Leg-spinner Liam Livingstone triggered the collapse before pacer Mark Wood seized the initiative as the duo returned with three wickets each to deny Ireland 15-20 runs extra. Chasing the tricky target, the 2010 champions were 105/5 in 14.3 overs, five runs short of the DLS target of 110 as the play could not be started within the cutoff time due to rain and Ireland completed their second win over England in a World Cup.

Eleven years ago at the ODI World Cup in India, Kevin O'Brien had inspired a stunning win over England at the Chinnaswamy. Overall, this was Ireland's third win over England with two coming in the ODI format. The Ireland win has now opened the doors for Australia as five of the six teams in the group now have two points each. Left-arm pacer Josh Little swung the new ball both ways and dismissed the two English openers Jos Buttler (0) and Alex Hales (7) in space of nine balls.

Fionn Hand then knocked over the dangerous Ben Stokes with a back of length delivery that sharply cut back in the last over of Power Play. England lost half of their side when Barry McCarthy induced a top edge of Dawid Malan inside 14 overs as they still needed 72 runs form 41 balls. Ireland were let down by their fielding but overall they towered over their English rivals both in batting and bowling. This was also Ireland's maiden win in the second stage of the T20 World Cup. Earlier, Ireland skipper Balbirnie smashed a 47-ball 62, his first T20 World Cup half-century and eighth overall,