T20 World Cup: After Ireland defeat, here’s what England need to do to qualify for semis

Ireland pulled off a huge upset in the ongoing T20 World Cup with a five-wicket victory over 2010 champions England by five runs via DLS method in a Group 1 match in Super 12 stage at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Wednesday.

The win is also just the third victory for Ireland over England in men’s international cricket after ODI wins in Bengaluru 2011 (in the World Cup) and Southampton 2020 and also their first time win in T20Is too.

Notably, 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. Moreover, the Ireland win has now opened the doors for Australia as five of the six teams in the group now have two points each.

As per the current scenario, Group 1 is wide open and any team from the lot can make it to the semis.

Here we take a look at how England can still make it to the next round after the shocking defeat against Ireland:

• England will have to win their remaining three group games against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Australia. However, there could still be a three-way tie in Group 1. In that case, NRR will come into the equation. This assumes that there are no more upsets from Ireland and Afghanistan.
• Moreover, England can’t afford to lose to Australia as it will virtually be a do-or-die clash for both teams. But, if England lose two of their remaining three games then it will be almost impossible for them to make it to the knockout round as their qualification chances will depend on Ireland and Afghanistan pulling off upsets.

Talking about the match, having stormed into Super 12 by eliminating two-time champions West Indies, Ireland rode on a sparkling 47-ball 62 by skipper Andy Balbirnie and looked for a 180-plus total before England dragged them back to bowl them out for 157 in 19.2 overs.

Leg-spinner Liam Livingstone triggered the collapse before pacer Mark Wood seized the initiative as the duo returned with three wickets each to deny Ireland 15-20 runs extra.

Chasing the tricky target, the 2010 champions were 105/5 in 14.3 overs, five runs short of the DLS target of 110 as the play could not be started within the cutoff time due to rain and Ireland completed their second win over England in a World Cup.

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