Rain played spoilsport in England’s already shaky chase, helping Ireland defeat the former champions by five runs as per Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in the Group 1, Super 12 match of the ICC T20 World Cup at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Wednesday.

With this win, Ireland has climbed to the fourth position in the points table with two points and one win in two matches. England sits in the third position with two points and one win in two matches.

Chasing 158, England’s hard-hitting top order faced an implosion yet again. Medium pacer Josh Little dismissed dangerous opener Jos Buttler (0) and Alex Hales (7), reducing England to 14/2 in their 2.4 overs.

In six overs, England was at 37/3, with Malan (15*) and Brook (3*) at the crease.

In the 11th over, Ireland missed two great chances to strengthen their hold on the match by dropping Brook and Malan in two consecutive balls. However, Gerath Delany undid the damage caused by catching Brook for 18 off 21 balls, breaking the 38-run stand between Brook and Malan. George Dockrell got his first wicket of the match.

All-rounder Moeen Ali joined Malan at the other end and two southpaws had to guide England towards another victory.

Malan, who had been holding together England’s innings till this point, was dismissed by Barry McCarthy for 35 off 37 balls after being caught by Fionn Hand. Half of the English batting lineup was back in the hut for 86/5.

Ali was joined by Liam Livingstone. Ali helped England cross the 100-run mark in 14.2 overs.

Rain interrupted play at this point. England were 5 runs behind the par score of 110 as they had scored 105/5 in 14.3 overs, with Ali (24*) and Livingstone (1*). The action could not start and rain exceeded the cut-off time.

As a result, Ireland won the match by five runs.

Little (2/16) was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland. McCarthy, Hand, and Dockrell took one wicket each.

Balbirnie top scored for Ireland with 62 off 47 while Lorcan Tucker played a knock of 34 runs. For England, Livingstone, Wood bagged three while Sam Curran claimed two wickets.

Brief score: Ireland 157 (Andrew Balbirnie 62, Lorcan Tucker 34; Liam Livingstone 3-17) won against England: 105/5: (Dawid Malan 35, Moeen Ali 24*, Josh Little 2/16) by five runs as per the DLS method. 

(with inputs from ANI)