Dublin: Ireland marked a fantastic victory over the world champions in the third ODI at Southampton. Even though England was able to bag the series 2-1, the unexpected defeat became a setback for England. Kevin O’Brien sealed the 7-wicket margin victory by scoring the winning run in the penultimate ball of the final over.
Ireland with a fabulous victory over England in the third and final ODI. The world champions wouldn’t have expected a defeat to the ‘little ones’ of cricket after setting huge numbers on the score board. The Irish team was able to cross the 329 runs victory line by losing just three wickets. They fetched the win with seven wickets in hand.
The Irish captain Andrew Balbirnie (113) and Paul Stirling (142) scored centuries. Their partnership on the second wicket added 264 runs and thus Ireland was able to achieve the target.
Ireland was pushed to the back foot when both of these players lost their wickets in quick succession. But Kevin O’Brien came to the rescue by exhibiting a performance which was similar to the one he played in Bangalore during the 2011 world cup against the same opposition.
The Irish victory is massively celebrated because they lost the previous two matches of the series with scores of 172-10 and 212-9 respectively.
Eoin Morgan, the former Irish batsman and the current England team captain was able to score 106 runs against his own country. England lost 3 wickets while adding 13 runs and that pushed them from 190-3 to 203-6.
England was having a defeat less 2-0 rally until the Irish team repeated the 329 runs, which was the same score in 2011 match.
After Lockdown
Even though Ireland lost the first series after the Covid-19 lockdown, the last night’s victory had fetched them 10 points in the World Cup Super League. This will be crucial points as they approach the 2023 50 over World Cup in India.
Score
England 328-10, 50 over (E. Morgan 106, T. Banton 58, D. Willy 51; C. Young 3-53)
Ireland 329-3, 49.5 over (P. Stirling 142, A. Balbirnie 113)