Ireland looked unlikely to go past 180 against England while chasing 267. So the Irish innings started with a pressure index (PI) of 170.
At 11/2, the PI rose to 174.
Porterfield and N J O'Brien tried their best, but it wasn't easy especially against a determined Flintoff who had a couple of things to prove.
Ireland didn't want to lose too badly, and England didn't want to win big (have they forgotten the NRR tie-breaker?), so the match simply meandered along. Only Panesar's occasional burst of exuberance reminded you that this was supposed to be a contest.
This World Cup has been really disappointing... imagine we could have been watching England playing Pakistan instead!
Sunil T and Sunil Patil of Cranes Software helped create this pressure map based on the details retrieved from the Rediff scorer.