Man of the match Kevin O'Brien lashed 13 boundaries and six sixes in his memorable One-day century to silence the spirited, in majority, English supporters at the Bengaluru stadium. The stadia were all on their feet after witnessing a stunning display of sportsmanship by the Irish team over their old enemy.
Kevin, a lookalike of Andrew Flintoff from the stands, played his strokes fearlessly on a wicket where the ball came nicely on to the bat. The destructive middle-order batman played a typically attacking innings, racing to his century with a flick towards the mid-wicket. The crowd and Irish box went up in roar to celebrate Kevin's second One-day hundred.
O'Brien alongwith Alex Cusack (47) made the most of an ordinary English attack to bring the match from a no-contest zone to a winning one in a roller-coaster day-night match.
The pair added 162 runs for the sixth wicket with much ease and exposed the limitations of English bowlers in containing runs on a track like Chinnaswamy. Kevin and Alex gave an outstanding exhibition of power-hitting under extreme situation to remind England team of their strength.
Ireland lost their five top-order batsmen cheaply but O'Brien and Cusack dug in to lend firmness and force an improbable win.
Chasing 328 runs to win, Ireland got off to forgettable start when they lost their most experienced campaigner and skipper William Porterfield in the first ball of the second innings. Jimmy Anderson, who has had a tough time in India, bowled the opposition skipper in the first over to spark some doubts about the huge chase.
Paul Stirling tried to up the ante after losing his skipper early with some forceful boundaries before falling to Tim Bresnan. Stirling smacked five fours and a six during his 32-run stay at the crease.
England poor fielding contributed in their defeat as they manage to drop at least six catches in the middle. Generous England bowlers also helped with 33 extras.
Paul Stirling (32), Ed Joyce (32) and Niall O'Brien (29) were the other main contributors in Ireland's stunning victory.
Earlier, Jonathan Trott (92) and Ian Bell (81) propelled England to 327 against Ireland in their Group B World Cup match at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The experience duo added an invaluable 167 runs for the third wicket to help England to an imposing total.
Skipper Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen continued from where they left last Sunday at Chinnaswamy against India. The English openers, electing to bat first, got off to a flourishing start scoring seven runs per over. Pietersen, in his opening role, looked rather impressive today with some exquisite strokes to light up the afternoon.
The former England captain took the Irish bowling to the cleaners with some lusty hits to the fence and over it. The naturally aggressive player completed his 22nd half-century, fourth in World Cups, off just 41 deliveries. Andrew Strauss was more than happy to give the strike to Pietersen, who was having a beautiful time with the willow. The duo shared a first-wicket stand of 91 runs before Ireland fired the first salvo.
Seeing his pace bowlers being smacked all over the park, skipper William Porterfield introduced spinners in the 12th over. Teenager George Dockrell in his second over obliged his captain by claiming Andrew Strauss with a beauty. The England skipper was bowled out for 34 on his 34th birthday.
Three overs later, a confident Pietersen tried to do something unusual with disastrous results. Offie Paul Stirling pitched the ball outside off-stump and KP, itching for a switch-hit, tried a reverse sweep but miscued it completely for an easy catch to keeper Niall O'Brien. His 59 runs included seven fours and two huge sixes.
England's run-rate dropped from 7 to 5 once England had lost their openers but Trott and Bell overcame a subdued start once they got the feel of the pitch. The Englishmen dominated Irish attack with impressive strokeplay from 17th over to 43rd over before Bell's stay was cut short by John Mooney during a batting powerplay.
Trott and Bell both fell within sight of a century; however the former equalled the record for the fastest 1,000 runs in ODI's. He needed 64 runs at the start to equal the record of Vivian Richards and Kevin Pietersen, when he came to bat. Trott struck nine fours before being dismissed by Mooney.
England lost some quick wickets at the end before posting a huge target for Ireland. John Mooney finished with the best figures claiming four wickets in nine overs for 63 runs.
