Ireland chase 305 to stun Windies

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.

True to his words, the Irishmen produced a clinical performance to beat former two-time world champions by four wickets at Nelson on Monday.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.