<p>On the eve of their opening clash against the West Indies, Ireland captain William Porterfield had claimed that an upset would not be surprising anymore. <br /><br /></p>.<p>True to his words, the Irishmen produced a clinical performance to beat former two-time world champions by four wickets at Nelson on Monday. <br /><br />It wasn’t the first time Ireland had upset a Test playing nation on the World Cup stage. They had scripted historic victories in the past against strong opponents such as England (2011), Pakistan and Bangladesh (2007). <br /><br />The Caribbean side became their fourth major victim and the convincing win will boost the Irish side’s confidence to go hard in their upcoming games and look for a place in the knockout stage. When a timely ton from Lendl Simmons and a typical late burst from Darren Sammy took the West Indies to a daunting 304, many cricket pundits would have felt that the total was enough to defend against an associate team. <br /><br />But a clear blend of ruthlessness and experience steered Ireland past a beleaguered Windies, who now have more worries to handle before their next league game against Pakistan on Saturday. <br /><br />With this World Cup producing high scoring runs right from the first match, Ireland were benefited from an experienced batting order which had delivered in the past under pressure. <br /><br />A quickfire 92 from opener Paul Stirling set the tone for their chase and the exciting left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman Niall O’Brien (79) and Ed Joyce (84) then combined to give Ireland a perfect start to the tournament. <br /><br />The young bowling unit is still a worry for Ireland who await bigger teams in the remainder of the tournament but a historic win on the day would give them the desired momentum and confidence.<br /></p>
<p>On the eve of their opening clash against the West Indies, Ireland captain William Porterfield had claimed that an upset would not be surprising anymore. <br /><br /></p>.<p>True to his words, the Irishmen produced a clinical performance to beat former two-time world champions by four wickets at Nelson on Monday. <br /><br />It wasn’t the first time Ireland had upset a Test playing nation on the World Cup stage. They had scripted historic victories in the past against strong opponents such as England (2011), Pakistan and Bangladesh (2007). <br /><br />The Caribbean side became their fourth major victim and the convincing win will boost the Irish side’s confidence to go hard in their upcoming games and look for a place in the knockout stage. When a timely ton from Lendl Simmons and a typical late burst from Darren Sammy took the West Indies to a daunting 304, many cricket pundits would have felt that the total was enough to defend against an associate team. <br /><br />But a clear blend of ruthlessness and experience steered Ireland past a beleaguered Windies, who now have more worries to handle before their next league game against Pakistan on Saturday. <br /><br />With this World Cup producing high scoring runs right from the first match, Ireland were benefited from an experienced batting order which had delivered in the past under pressure. <br /><br />A quickfire 92 from opener Paul Stirling set the tone for their chase and the exciting left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman Niall O’Brien (79) and Ed Joyce (84) then combined to give Ireland a perfect start to the tournament. <br /><br />The young bowling unit is still a worry for Ireland who await bigger teams in the remainder of the tournament but a historic win on the day would give them the desired momentum and confidence.<br /></p>