Ireland Wins Again!

Irish cricket continued to make impressive strides when they comprehensively defeated Bangladesh today in Barbados. The Irish were cheered on by thousands of supporters, including a strong contingent of locals. Electing to bat first on a bouncy wicket, the Irish built a competitive total of 243/7. The foundation for the total was laid by openers, William Porterfield and Jeremy Bray, who put on 92 for the first wicket. Man of the match Porterfield made 85. The Irish were aided by dropped catches and missed run out chances by the Bangladeshis who were ragged in the field. Even with the missed chances the Bangladeshis still were able to record 4 run outs as the Irish pressed for twos and quick singles when the boundaries dried up in the middle of the innings. A quick fire 48 off 44 balls by Kevin O'Brien and 30 off 23 by captain Trent Johnston revived the innings at the end and helped Ireland to post the challenging score.

Bangladesh lost wickets early and often in reply as they struggled against the Irish seamers. When Boyd Rankin had Mohammad Ashraful 5th out caught at fine leg, the writing was on the wall as Bangladesh were only on 102. 67 runs later the innings folded on 169 to give Ireland a commanding 74 run win. The Irish bowlers might just be starting a new dance fad called "the funky chicken" as Johnston and now Dave Langford-Smith have been doing the strangest wicket-taking celebratory dance I've ever seen on a cricket pitch. (See a picture of Langford-Smith's dance here)

Of note is that Ireland (on 2 points) now leapfrog Bangladesh in the Super Eights table and are currently in 7th position due to their superior net run rate. Bangladesh, who now has officially been eliminated from semi final consideration, languish at the bottom of the table. The West Indies are tied with Bangladesh and Ireland on 2 points, but still have an outside shot at the semi finals. However, it is also highly possible that the once proud team from the Caribbean could end up fighting Ireland and Bangladesh for that last placed spot in the Super Eights table.

(Cross posted from Rain, No Play)

Labels: 2007 world cup, bangladesh, ireland, world cup