Ireland defeat the Netherlands by six wickets - ICC World Cup 2011
Ireland overcame the Netherlands easily by six wickets in a Group B match of the ICC World Cup 2011 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday. Batting first, Holland scored 306 runs in their allotted 50 overs. However, the Irish batsmen chased the target down in 47.4 overs, losing just four wickets.
The wicket was very good for batting, but there was some movement for the fast bowlers in the early stages of the match. This gave an advantage to the Irish bowlers, as William Porterfield chose to field first after winning the toss.
After getting off to a poor start, the Dutch team batted well in the middle overs and scored more than 300 runs for the first time in the tournament. Ryan ten Doeschate was yet again brilliant for his team, as he scored his second century of the World Cup. He was the innings top scorer with 106 runs whereas; the Dutch captain also batted well for his 84 off 82 balls.
John Mooney and Paul Stirling were the pick of the bowlers for Ireland, as they took two wickets each for their team.
Ireland needed a good start to their innings in order to chase down the challenging total set by the Netherlands batsmen. Captain Porterfield and Stirling batted confidently and took the game away from their opponents with a superb century partnership.
The opening pair scored 177 runs before Porterfield was sent back to the pavilion after adding 68 runs off 93 balls to the total. He played sensible cricket, as he rotated the strike over to his partner, who was playing his strokes freely.
Stirling was dismissed just two runs later, but he had done his job before getting out. The flamboyant batsman scored 101 runs from just 72 balls. He struck 14 fours and two towering sixes in his blazing innings.
Ed Joyce and Gary Wilson threw their wickets away after scoring 28 and 27 runs respectively. However, Niall O’Brien played sensibly and guided his team to victory with an unbeaten 57 off 58 balls.
Tom Cooper bowled well for the Dutch, as he grabbed two wickets, but he got no support from the other bowlers.
Paul Stirling was named as player-of-the-match for his wonderful all-round performance in the match. He scored a brilliant ton and also grabbed two wickets in the match.