Ireland cricket had taken giant strides during the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. They tied against Zimbabwe and pulled off a huge win against Pakistan to knock them out of the tournament. Although they lost against the other big nations, they went out on a high by defeating Bangladesh, who had earlier defeated South Africa and India. They looked to repeat their feats of 2007 and in the 2011 edition, and they pulled off a bigger coup, against their old enemy.
England and Ireland have had a bitter past when it comes to political and social issues. The rivalry has also spilled over into sports where a victory by Ireland can trigger mass celebrations. On March 02, 2011, 'The Blarney Army', Ireland's cricket fan club, painted the streets of Bangalore green when Ireland created history. One player who helped them achieve this feat, himself broke a World Cup record.
In the league match between England and Ireland in Bangalore, England won the toss and chose to bat. They got off to a great start thanks to a 40-ball fifty from Kevin Pietersen and he was backed up by a gritty 92 from Jonathan Trott and an 81 from Ian Bell. England reached 327/8 and the bowlers carried the momentum by reducing Ireland to 111/5. Enter Kevin O'Brien!
Kevin was one of the pillars of the Ireland batting along with his brother Niall O'Brien. Immediately, Kevin decided that a counterattack would serve his team well and he went after Graeme Swann. He launched two sixes off Swann and from that point, he took the England bowlers to the cleaners. He clobbered his way to fifty off just 30 balls and there were signs that a miracle was about to take place.
He spared no one in the assault. He smashed 11 runs in the 34th over bowled by Tim Bresnan and took 14 in the 35th over bowled by James Anderson. Ireland scored 62 runs in the batting powerplay but Kevin did not let up. In the 41st over, Kevin created history when he scored a century off just 50 balls, the fastest in the history of the World Cup, breaking Matthew Hayden's previous record off 66 balls which he scored against South Africa in St.Kitts in 2007.
Kevin was finally run-out for 113 off 63 balls. The knock had included 13 fours and six sixes and his 162-run stand with Alex Cusack, who chipped in with 47 off 58 balls gave Ireland victory by three wickets with five balls to spare. In the process, he became the leading run-scorer for Ireland in ODIs.
The streets of the Garden city were donned with the green of the Blarney Army as they celebrated well into the night. The moment was summed up by Kevin itself when he said, "There's two proud people up there in the stands, and there's probably 4 million proud people back home. It's a fantastic day, not just for Irish cricket but for any Irish sport. It even eclipses playing in the back garden with Niall, where hitting out of the garden was out. I think anyone is going to struggle to beat that innings to be honest, and I'll take a few fines for that."
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