Player of the Match
Player of the Match

The next game between Afghanistan and New Zealand is on the same ground. The rain has persisted, leading to a delay in start. So that allows time for this game to sink in. Thanks for joining in, hope you enjoyed the joyride of a game as much as we did. I'm Ekanth, signing off on behalf of Deivarayan Muthu, my report-writing co-commentator, our scorers, Thilak Rama and M Venkat Raghav.

So Ireland have done it! Historic day reminiscent of the famous win at the 50-over World Cup win in 2011. Their batting and bowling was amazing for a while but not throughout, the fielding needs to improve but boy are they heading onwards and upwards! For England, this heightens the stakes for the game against Australia, also at the MCG. Mark Wood was quite candid at the mid-innings interview, saying they gave away runs. Buttler mentioned it and noted giving runs on both sides of the wicket was an issue. So lots to work on which will be in focus on Friday.

Andy Balbirnie, Ireland Captain and POTM: We were disappointed with losing seven wickets in a heap late in our innings. It was tough, their bowlers had good variations. Our message was to create chances to be in with a shot. But we were off the blocks with Lorcan Tucker, he took a few blows but continued. (On the win) It's amazing, kind of emotional. To come here against tournament favourites here at the MCG, where we have never played a game before, is amazing. A few of the fans in the crowd have extended their stay. Their support has been wonderful and will do a lot to grow the game back home. We have Afghanistan here on Friday, quick turnaround. Look forward to it. We were fortunate drops did not cost us but we need to improve.

Jos Buttler, England Captain: I thought we were poor in the first 10 overs and let them get away. We were not consistent enough, let them score on both sides of the wicket. The second ten overs were much better. We let them have 20-30 more in the first ten but pulled it back. Myself getting out first over didn't help, we never managed to get initiative. The rain's gotten heavier and heavier, so no problem of coming out when we did. Ireland were excellent, they outplayed us. We made a mistake here and has made it difficult in a tough group.

Josh Little was the star with the ball early on, he was unplayable with late swing and plenty of seam movement. His lengths were immaculate and led to Jos Buttler and Alex Hales' dismissals. Adair assisted him and beat the bat often. McCarthy was good. Delany should have had three but had drop catches. In the end, it did not cost them the win.

Kashyap: "England only have themselves to blame here. When you choose to bat second, you are expected to play by the DLS RR. They were always going to get 100 in the last 10 but whyyy?"

6:53pm: Rain's gotten heavier. The match has it been called off! Ireland win by five runs via DLS. Hand shakes all round as Ireland complete a famous win. They were dominant for the most part but Moeen Ali was bringing England back into the game. Fortune favoured Ireland at the end as England were finally getting close to par after being well behind for pretty much all of the innings. But the brilliance up top is what makes this a deserved win. Lovely scenes now as the Irish players have handshakes with fans, who are congratulating them.

6:46pm: Play has to restart within ten minutes. 6:56 is the cut off time. If it doesn't start by then it's game over. If it doesn't start by then it's over. But a couple of minutes later, Mike Atherton says intensity's reduced but there is still a steady drizzle. Coach Matthew Mott has a word with the ump and leaves with six minutes to go to the cut-off time. Drizzle's still on.

Malghani: "Rain rain, go to Spain."

6:41pm: It's started raining again and the umpires are taking the players off. England are five short of 110, the par score at this stage. Remember, there was a delay at the start of play, so we might start losing overs soon. It looks steady, Nasser Hussain says it's the heaviest it has been so far.

14.3
4
Delany to Ali, FOUR, Full outside off, stays leg side and slashes an extra cover drive in the gap for four

Charlie : "This over of spin was something that Ireland could have done without."

14.2
2
Delany to Ali, 2 runs, Length outside off, cuts to deep point
14.1
6
Delany to Ali, SIX, Moeen does a Kohli albeit to a spinner! Makes room and forehands it straight for six.

END OF OVER:
14 | 7 Runs 1 Wkt | ENG: 93/5 (65 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 6.64, RRR: 10.83)

  • Moeen Ali12 (9b)
  • Liam Livingstone1 (2b)
  • Barry McCarthy3-0-20-1
  • Gareth Delany3-0-21-0
13.6
1lb
McCarthy to Ali, 1 leg bye, Back of length ball shoots up, looks to have hit Moeen Ali on the shoulder! Went across after pitching around leg. Moeen was shaping up to play it to the leg side but it sped through. Went off the back shoulder to the off side
13.6
1w
McCarthy to Ali, 1 wide, Makes room, McCarthy looks to follow him with a length ball. Went down leg
13.5
4
McCarthy to Ali, FOUR, Makes room and slashes it over mid-off! McCarthy landed it around that length area.

Gary: "Aren't most catches by 'Hand'?" Not all?

13.4
0
McCarthy to Ali, no run, Bouncer, Moeen shapes for the pull but lets it go after seeing it was angling away at head-height aeound fourth

shaheem: "20 mins of livingstone and its game over "

13.3
1
McCarthy to Livingstone, 1 run, Full outsdie off, goes across and pushes to mid-off
13.2
0
McCarthy to Livingstone, no run, Back of length just outside off. Inside edges a defence to pad. Falls in front
13.1
W
McCarthy to Malan, OUT, Top edge off the pull... it's taken at deep third! Sigh that relief, McCarthy is ecstatic! Landed it on a back of length outside off, Malan slashed hard as he looks to drag it towards midwicket. Hand ran in a bit but it was well in his reach. Took it low down. Five down now!

DJ Malan c Hand b McCarthy 35 (66m 37b 2x4 0x6) SR: 94.59

END OF OVER:
13 | 9 Runs | ENG: 86/4 (72 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 6.61, RRR: 10.28)

  • Moeen Ali8 (6b)
  • Dawid Malan35 (36b)
  • Gareth Delany3-0-21-0
  • Josh Little3-0-16-2

Zubin: "@SidB Presumably because Delaney has 2 overs left, they've sent in Moeen instead of the right handed Livingston"

12.6
4
Delany to Ali, FOUR, Thrashed along the ground, long-on can't get there. Was full around off, Moeen whacked it powerfully, the drive was very straight. Long-on ran to his right
12.5
1
Delany to Malan, 1 run, Length outside off, cut to deep point
12.4
1
Delany to Ali, 1 run, Slashed straight, Malan has to jump to let it rocket through below. Was a full and wide ball to which Moeen charged down and swung across
12.3
1
Delany to Malan, 1 run, Full around off, swept behind square to the deep

Rahim: "Are wickets disadvantage to the batting sides on D/L?" Yes, it increases the par score

12.2
1
Delany to Ali, 1 run, Full outside off, reaches out and slaps a sweep to long-on
12.1
1
Delany to Malan, 1 run, Slog sweeps, doesn't connect. Off the bottom, along the ground to deep square

Despite the two LHBs, Delany continues

END OF OVER:
12 | 9 Runs | ENG: 77/4 (81 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 6.41, RRR: 10.12)

  • Dawid Malan32 (33b)
  • Moeen Ali2 (3b)
  • Josh Little3-0-16-2
  • George Dockrell1-0-5-1

SidB: "Even though Malan seriously needs to tee off now, but to me it makes absolutely no sense to hold back Livingstone once Brook got out. He could've changed course in a couple of overs, and even if he got out attempting to do that, Eng still have enough depth."

11.6
1
Little to Malan, 1 run, Pulls a shortish ball to deep-backward square

Ridwa: "Malan can be Virat today."

11.5
1lb
Little to Ali, 1 leg bye, Looks to pull and misses, goes off the body to the right of the keeper
11.5
1w
Little to Ali, 1 wide, Tries to pull, the ball is wide down leg and goes past Moeen's gloves
11.4
1
Little to Malan, 1 run, Pulls, may have tickled it. Ballooned but in empty space at square leg.
11.3
4
Little to Malan, FOUR, Pulls, goes off the under edge. Wide of the keeper and very fine. Deep fine cannot get to it
11.2
0
Little to Malan, no run, Tries to pull, gets it off the bottom into the ground in front

England 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st0AD HalesJC Buttler
2nd14DJ MalanAD Hales
3rd15DJ MalanBA Stokes
4th38DJ MalanHC Brook
5th19MM AliDJ Malan
6th19MM AliLS Livingstone

ICC Men's T20 World Cup

First Round Group A
TeamMWLPTNRR
SL32140.667
NED3214-0.162
NAM31220.73
UAE3122-1.235
First Round Group B
TeamMWLPTNRR
ZIM32140.2
IRE32140.105
SCOT31220.304
WI3122-0.563
Group 1
TeamMWLPTNRR
NZ53172.113
ENG53170.473
AUS5317-0.173
SL5234-0.422
IRE5133-1.615
AFG5032-0.571
Group 2
TeamMWLPTNRR
IND54181.319
PAK53261.028
SA52250.874
NED5234-0.849
BAN5234-1.176
ZIM5133-1.138