T20 World Cup: How England can qualify for semis despite losing to Ireland

Ireland pulled off a huge upset in the ongoing T20 World Cup with a five-run victory over 2010 champions England at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Wednesday.

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The win is also just the third victory for Ireland over England in men’s international cricket after ODI wins in 2011 and 2020.

With the win, Ireland have climbed to fourth position in the points table with two points (one win in two matches). England sit in the third position with two points having scored one win in two matches. Ireland’s win has now opened doors for Australia as five of the six teams in the group now have two points each.

T20 World Cup: Group 1 rankings after Ireland beat England. Image: ICC

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

How England can still make it to T20 World Cup semi-finals:

• 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.
• 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

Ireland, having stormed into Super 12 by eliminating two-time champions West Indies, 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.

(with inputs from PTI)

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