Irish sunk by on-song Singh

CAPTAIN William Porterfield rued the fact that Ireland did not put up a more imposing total as they went down to a five-wicket defeat to India in their World Cup Group B match in Bangalore yesterday.

Yuvraj Singh scored 50 off 75 balls to back up his best World Cup bowling figures of five for 31, as India overhauled the giantkillers’ target of 207 for victory in 46 overs. The left-hander added 67 with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (34), but Ireland gave India some anxious moments throughout by picking up some crucial wickets.

Earlier, Porterfield scored a workmanlike 75, but lack of contributions elsewhere meant Ireland were bowled out inside 48 overs.

“An extra 40 runs would have made the match interesting,” Porterfield said.

“We got ourselves in a great position after losing two early wickets, until the run-out of Niall O’Brien.

“We are a fighting side, we got three early wickets. There are three games left, there’s no reason we can’t beat any of those teams.”

After winning the toss, Zaheer Khan gave India a terrific start by scalping Paul Stirling and Ed Joyce in successive overs.

Porterfield and Niall O’Brien then added 81 in 20 overs, but a piece of brilliance in the field from Virat Kohli saw off O’Brien, who had made a patient 46.

By then Porterfield, who was dropped in the first over by Yusuf Pathan, had reached his second World Cup half-century, off 67 balls, and added 113 with O’Brien for the third wicket.

Wickets fell in a heap thereafter as Ireland batsmen were bamboozled by Yuvraj and the visitors crashed to 184 for eight from 122 for three in 26 overs.

In fact, Yuvraj took all the five wickets that fell during this period, including Kevin O’Brien, the hero of Ireland’s sensational victory over England.

The fall of Porterfield then dashed the hopes of a late surge. The opener departed to a lose shot, but had dug deep for his 75 off 104 balls.

Yuvraj dismissed Cusack (24) in his final over and became the first left-arm spinner to pick up five wickets in a World Cup match.

Ireland inched past 200 in the 47th over, but Zaheer and Munaf Patel soon polished off the tail with 13 balls remaining. Zaheer finished with three for 30.

The visitors then gave India a scare by removing Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir early on with just 24 on the board.

But Sachin Tendulkar and Kohli eased the nerves by adding 63 in 15 overs, but soon George Dockrell had his big moment when he trapped the master-blaster plumb lbw for 38 (46 balls).

India reached 100 in the 24th over, but soon a mix-up with Yuvraj sparked Kohli’s dismissal for 34, bringing Dhoni to the middle.

Yuvraj and Dhoni added 37 in next 10 overs to keep the chase on track, and denied any opportunity for Ireland to claw back.

India moved past 150 in 37, but had to endure another scare when Dockrell trapped Dhoni lbw for a 50-ball 34, but a couple of sixes from big-hitting Pathan brought the equation down to 25 runs off nine overs.

The duo rattled off the required runs with four overs to spare as Pathan scored the winning boundary to remain unbeaten on 30 off 24 balls.

Dhoni believes India are peaking at the right time.

“Though they (Ireland) scored only 207 they made it look like 240 with their fielding,” Dhoni said.

“The Ireland bowlers put every batsman under pressure and tested his abilities. It was very good exposure for the batsmen. The number seven batsman (Pathan) is also important.”

Earlier, England produced a winning surge in the nick of time to resuscitate their World Cup campaign against South Africa.

England defended a below-par total of 171 all out to scramble a much-needed six-run success.

Only painstaking half-centuries from man-of-the-match Ravi Bopara (60) and Jonathan Trott (52) gave England a worthwhile total on an awkward pitch. They still appeared set for defeat against Group B’s previously unbeaten early front-runners – who put on 63 for the first wicket and reached 124 for three.

But England dug in with some tigerish fielding and overdue expert bowling to exploit the conditions as their opponents lost seven wickets for 41 and Stuart Broad finished with four for 15.

“It was a huge game for us, because after the Ireland game we needed to show some character,” said captain Andrew Strauss.

Australia’s clash with Sri Lanka was abandoned due to poor weather while minnows Canada and Kenya face off in Group A today.