Twitter Reactions: England survive a massive Irish scare courtesy Ben Foakes and Tom Curran

Quite literally by the skin of their teeth, England have managed to get over the line in a hardly-fought contest against Ireland. Dublin played hosts to a sensational game of cricket amidst all the IPL chaos and entertained the cricketing universe profusely. Despite all their efforts, it had to be the 2019 World Cup favourites getting through with a 4-wicket win.

The match was cut down to 45 overs per side after wet outfield delayed play for a long time. Despite all the delay, Ireland appeared to have started on a positive note with William Porterfield and Paul Stirling adding 55 runs for the first wicket. Stirling did bulk of the scoring here, registering a 44-ball 33. Once the powerplay was done, they lost their way big time.

They lost four wickets in a span of 22 runs, which saw the side in a precarious position. Some decent efforts from Mark Adair and George Dockrell ensured they stitched a crucial partnership in the middle order. Debutant Jofra Archer broke this partnership with his maiden wicket as he knocked Adair’s stumps. Liam Plunkett and Tom Curran settled the deal in the death overs as they got bowled out on 198 in 43.1 overs.

Plunkett returned with a brilliant 4/35 whilst Curran registered figures of 3/35. Apart from Stirling’s 33 and Adair’s 32, Irish batters never really got going.

Top order collapse put England on the knife edge

Openers James Vince and Dawid Malan appeared to have begun on a positive note, stroking some boundaries and playing the good deliveries cautiously. Yet, Joshua Little had other ideas and sent the Irish fans into a frenzy. He picked up three quick wickets of Vince, Malan and Morgan with Tim Murtagh removing the dangerous Joe Root.

Joe Denly followed the suit as well, getting dismissed for just 8 runs. At this point, England were struggling at 66/5. They needed a partnership at any cost and they got that from debutant Ben Foakes and David Willey. They saw the danger away and ensured the Irish didn’t build on the momentum. They took their time, but ensured England got back on track with a 45-run partnership.

Tom Curran walked in with the side needing 98 more runs to win. The all-rounder made a mockery of the hosts’ bowling attack and showed his aggressive instincts. His innings gave confidence to Foakes, who too upped the ante. As it turned out, Foakes completed his fifty and Curran remained unbeaten on a 56-ball 47, which saw the Three Lions win by six wickets.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to this humdinger of a contest:

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