England 4-274 (Eoin Morgan 124*, Ravi Bopara 101*, Tim Murtagh 3-33) beat Ireland 7-269 (William Porterfield 112, John Mooney 27, Boyd Rankin 4-46, James Tredwell 2-35) by six wickets.

The English skipper, Eoin Morgan, led his side from the front and powered a ton followed by the one from Ravi Bopara as England surpassed the Irish target easily.

Ireland scored 269 runs with three wickets in hand after the measured 50 overs and England amassed 274 runs for the loss of just four wickets with seven overs still remaining in the game.

Eoin Morgan (England) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his blistering unbeaten knock of 124 off 106 mere balls.

The only One Day International was held at The Village, Malahide, Dublin.

Earlier, Eoin Morgan, the captain of England, won the toss and preferred to chase. The Irish skipper, William Porterfield, started off nicely but a couple of wickets fell early at the other end as the score touched 36 in 7.3 overs. Neil O’Brien got in next and gathered 3 fours in the coming overs while Porterfield got four boundaries in the process. The third wicket fell at 95 in 20.6 overs when Neil O’Brien was clean bowled by Boyd Rankin for 26 runs. Porterfield attained his fifty with another four as the next batsman, Gary Wilson, managed just two runs and was replaced by Kevin O’Brien.

The batsmen kept on cruising with the regular boundaries and they took the score to 161 in 34.4 overs. Kevin O’Brien became the next victim when he was caught by Morgan at midwicket off Ravi Bopara for 23. John Mooney took guards next but the run rate decreased a bit after that. William Porterfield smashed his 6^th ODI hundred in style with a grand six and was finally gone for 112 off 142 balls with 1 six and 14 fours. Mooney scored 27 as the home side reached 269 for the loss of seven wickets in 50 overs.

Boyd Rankin was the supreme bowler with four wickets, James Tredwell held two whereas Ravi Bopara chipped in with one wicket.

Ireland put the visitors in the corner by grasping their four top order wickets at just 48 in 14.5 overs. Michael Carberry, Luke Wright, James Taylor and Gary Ballance were sent back to the pavilion for 10, 5, 0 and 25 runs. Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara got together in the center when the hosts were anticipating an unbelievable win. Bopara got off with 2 fours in the 17^th over and Morgan tasted his first boundary four overs later. The first hundred of the innings was displayed on the board in the 25^th over and the run rate was picked up by the duo in the coming overs. Eoin Morgan reached his fifty in the 30^th over and hit the first six of the innings in the next one.

Ravi Bopara hit two consecutive sixes in the 32^nd over and scored his half century three overs later. The pair added 11 runs in the 37^th one with 1 six and 1 four and Eoin Morgan thrashed his fifth ODI century with a lofty six over extra cover. Bopara took charge and was sending the ball out of the fence frequently. He accomplished his second ODI hundred on the first four balls of the 43^rd over with the assistance of 1 six and 2 fours. Eoin Morgan hit the winning six on the last ball as the target was achieved by plundering 274 runs with six wickets still in hand. He secured his wickets for 124 off 147 balls with 4 big sixes and 8 fours whereas Ravi Bopara was at the other end with 101 comprising 5 high sixes and 10 fours.

Tim Murtagh was the top wicket taker with three whereas Trent Johnston claimed one.

England triumphed in the only One Day International against Ireland with a healthy margin of six wickets.