Related Links : World Cup 2007 : Scorecard
Ireland got the better of Bangladesh in the battle of the minnows on a fast and bouncy Barbados. Bangladesh were thrashed by 70 runs, nobody thought it would be a one-sided affair between two equally matched teams. Had things gone according to a plan for the ICC, then it would have been an electrifying Indo-Pak match but it was these two giant killing nations – Ireland and Bangladesh that played spoilsport by playing some spirited cricket in the first round. Bangladesh which was expected to be a superior and more experienced side just gave up in their chase of a good target of 244.
The toss is always crucial at the Kensington Oval and the luck favoured Trent Johnston. But he decided to take first strike and also the initiative in the match. The Irish openers William Porterfield and Jeremey Bray saw any threat posed by the new ball pair of Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain, who finally got a game instead of Syed Rasel. The two left handed openers batted together for a little over 25 overs to put up 92. The runs might have come slowly, but it sure was setting up a platform for bigger things to achieve. Bray made 31 from 70 balls before he was run out. His partner, Porterfield went onto make 85 from 136 with 3 fours which was instrumental in helping Ireland reach 243 for 7.
The big hitting Kevin O’Brien came good with a 44-ball 48 with two fours and two sixes, an innings that provided the momentum for Ireland. His older brother Niall missed out for a change making just 10. The Skipper Trent Johnston gave the perfect finish with 30 from just 23. To their credit, the Irish batsmen gave only the one wicket to the left arm spin and also picking up runs at a healthy rate against them. Mashrafe Mortaza was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 38 from his 10 overs.
Bangladesh lost Shahriar Nafees once again early in their innings. Their start was a dreadful one at 48 for 3. Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful started to put on a promising stand for the fourth wicket but once it got broken, it was the start of a major collapse. The Tigers lost their next six wickets for 76 to get bundle out for 169 in 41.2 overs. The top scorer was Ashraful with 35 from 36 with 5 fours and a six, an innings that was threatening to take the game away from Ireland. Boyd Rankin was the man who got this big wicket. Trent Johnston removed two key wickets that of Tamim Iqbal (29) and Habibul Bashar (32). It was a team effort from Ireland, their bowlers complementing the batsmen’s efforts. Boyd Rankin, Langford-Smith, Johnston and McCallan all picked up a couple of wickets each. Porterfield for his important innings got the Man of the Match award.