T20 WC: Jos Buttler showers praise on Ireland as pressure piles on England ahead of Australia tie

Ireland produced a shocking result as they defeated the 2010 winners England by five runs, via DLS method, in the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup on Wednesday (October 26). In a rain-marred contest, at the MCG, Melbourne, Ireland were asked to bat first and they rode on skipper Andrew Balbirnie (62) and George Tucker (34) to post 157 all-out in 19.3 overs, despite being well-placed at 103 for 2 in 12 overs. In reply, England's run-chase never got going and they lost early wickets, courtesy of Joshua Little, before rain made its presence felt just when Moeen Ali started to accelerate.

In 14.3 overs, England were 105 for 5 and needed 53 more from 33 balls. However, rain returned and led to an abrupt end to the contest; resulting in Ireland's win as they were five runs ahead as per DLS score. After the loss, England have a herculean task to stay alive in the contest and will next face defending champions and hosts Australia on Friday (October 28). Ahead of the high-octane battle, skipper Jos Buttler lavished praise on Ireland for their memorable win.

Speaking after the match, the England captain said: "The second 10 overs were much better, we let Ireland get 20-30 runs too many in the first 10 and were under pressure to restrict them. They showed us how to bowl on that wicket. Myself getting out in the first over, that's never ideal and we never managed to grab the initiative. They bowled well and used the wicket well. It (the rain) was going to get heavier and heavier wasn't it, but again as I said we won the toss and chose to bowl with the advantage of knowing what to do with the bat."

"They outplayed us in all three facets of the game and the better team won. We know we have made a mistake here and have put more pressure on us, but certainly if you needed a game to get going then England-Australia is one of those," Buttler added.

In the Group A, New Zealand and Sri Lanka occupy the top two spots whereas England, Ireland and Australia follow suit with Afghanistan being the only side to remain winless so far.