Pakistan are hoping to bolster their chances of making the T20 World Cup by winning this dead rubber. They showed great resilience in fighting back in the 17th over, despite Ifti having made an error with his slip catch.
Azam connects on two more sixes off Josh Little’s over. Shorter and slower this time around, he rocks back before sending the ball sailing over square leg. In this article, we will discuss about Ireland Cricket Team Vs Pakistan National Cricket Team Match Scorecard.
Ireland 178/7 (Lorcan Tucker 73)
After an inauspicious start, Ireland quickly took control of the game thanks to an outstanding 41-ball 73 from stand-in captain Lorcan Tucker. He dominated the early Powerplay period by hitting some blistering strokes against Mohammad Amir and Babar Azam who were looking rusty. Tucker eventually got caught at long-on as he neared his maiden T20I century but already hit 13 fours and one six during his innings.
Paul Stirling took to the crease next, and his patience was rewarded with an elegant six over long-on. Unfortunately for Stirling though, Amir bowled him, though not before creating an 81-run partnership between himself and Andy Balbirnie.
Balbirnie and Amir proved a lethal pair in the middle, regularly turning one and twos into runs to keep Ireland’s run rate steady. When Amir finally caught him at long-on off his first delivery of the final over, Balbirnie had scored his century off just 49 balls to bring Ireland to 178-7 with one over remaining.
Amir and Shaheen quickly sealed a 2-1 series win in Dublin against Ireland with 11 off their final over, forcing a brave chase from hosts Ireland that they can take great confidence from entering tri-series against Netherlands and Scotland later this summer in Amsterdam.
Ireland XI: Andrew Balbirnie (capt), Peter Chase, Lorcan Tucker, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair Ross Rock Neil Rock Curtis Campher Darren O’Donoghue PJ O’Reilly George Dockrell Pakistan: Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf (WK), Azam Khan (wk), Naseem Shah Yashti Shah Faheem Ashraf Pakistan are currently leading Group E with an unblemished record, while Ireland are second with one win from three matches. They meet again on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi and the loser may face either Australia or New Zealand in the semi-finals. These teams have met five times before at various ICC tournaments with Pakistan having always prevailed; Ireland have never managed a victory against them when playing limited overs cricket.
Pakistan 182/6 (Saim Ayub 45)
Saim Ayub of Pakistan continued his impressive run with the bat, scoring 45 off 29 balls and impressing his team-mates once more with his innings. They are hoping that Ayub can provide consistency after struggling against New Zealand in September; however, Ayub still needs to work on improving his shot selection; Ramiz Raja believes Ayub possesses enough ability to do well in limited-overs cricket but just has not found ways to convert starts into big scores at present.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan both scored over 100 runs, helping Pakistan maintain their advantage with Ireland by over two overs. Ireland struggled to contain Babar and Mohammad’s run flow; Amir and Shaheen Afridi managed to stop further runs flowing out.
Irish bowlers were forced to bowl short, as Irish batsmen hit every ball hit into gaps by them. Now, visitors are in a strong position to win this match and level the series.
Paul Stirling and Gareth Delany led Ireland with scores of 21 and 21, respectively. Both hit boundaries early on to keep Ireland competitive for victory despite the loss of openers Tucker and Balbirnie. Together they formed an impressive 73 partnership.
Curtis Campher enters the attack in the final over, starting off by bowling an angled full delivery that hits his pads firmly but ultimately goes for four runs to the keeper.
Four! Full and outside off, this fence was constructed using cover plates as a boundary. A much-needed buffer on Ireland’s side.
Mohammad Abbas attempts to play on the off-side but edges a shot straight to Tector at point, losing Pakistan their fourth wicket.
Shaheen Afridi began the final over with a full delivery angled to hit Ireland in the leg, hoping for a sweep but missing, leading to a loud appeal for leg before wicket; however, Ireland were given free hit.
Ireland 190/7 (Andy Balbirnie 55)
Ireland have pulled off a remarkable victory thanks to Andy Balbirnie’s extraordinary knock, taking an early 1-0 lead in this three-match T20 series in Dublin. Balbirnie played a superb knock of 78 balls which featured 13 boundaries en route to leading their run chart in this match.
Ireland’s pursuit of an ambitious total did not start off well as Paul Stirling and Lorcan Tucker both fell during the Powerplay, leaving their innings vulnerable. But Balbirnie and Harry Tector kept asking rates under control by hitting regular boundaries to ease Ireland back into the game.
Balbirnie glides past his cover to find an essential boundary and secure victory in Balbirnie’s favor.
He’s done it again! FOUR! Balbirnie stays low and flicks this past square leg for a brilliant four. 11 runs were scored from this over.
Halfway through an over, Gareth Delany steps up and smashes another boundary through mid off for Ireland – keeping their run-rate under control and helping ensure they don’t slip behind schedule. He has been outstanding throughout this innings!
Ireland remained in contention despite losing Balbirnie in the penultimate over, pushing hard for victory. George Dockrell and Harry Tector made useful contributions towards the end, with Curtis Campher holding his nerve during a dramatic finish that allowed Ireland to secure victory with one ball remaining.
Irish Cricket have made great strides forward with their preparations for the World Cup which commences next month. Although their fielding needs to improve significantly, this result will give great hope that Ireland can maintain their momentum going into their remaining matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh. Pakistan may feel otherwise and should assess how they can improve ahead of June’s showpiece tournament.
Pakistan 189/9 (Babar Azam 55)
As Ireland was dealt a crushing 2-1 series defeat at the hands of Pakistan, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan put on an opening stand that totalled 100 runs to build an insurmountable lead against Ireland batting mistakes made at Clontarf.
Rizwan hit an excellent 88 off 66 balls while Babar recorded an unbeaten 110 to make sure victory would come their way. Babar had started slowly but then showed his full potential by smashing home runs all around and pushing their side forward towards success.
Azam particularly excelled with his ball, taking 1-31.
Ireland were guilty of some reckless running between the wickets, allowing Pakistan to seize control early and score quickly while giving Pakistani bowlers access to lower order batsmen.
After the drinks break, Azam found himself back on strike but soon fell victim to an accurate full delivery aimed straight into his pads, missing its sweep before hitting him in the leg pad and rolling to the keeper.
Pak needed 12 runs from their next over to win and Delany was in no mood to wait; instead he threw his bat away as he was caught at deep midwicket and showed no hesitation.
Haris Rauf takes over for the ninth over and starts well, giving up only two singles from his first five balls before Azam hit one for a six.
Irish batsmen then wasted three overs to hand Pakistan a winning advantage, which allowed them to easily put out of sight this contest.
Ireland’s dismal recent record against Pakistan at home and in America made their hopes for reaching three consecutive World Cup semi-finals seem slim, but even after suffering a disappointing 2-1 series defeat there were many positives to take from this competition. Ireland’s young players such as Andy Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker proved they can compete with some of the greatest sides in cricket.
Also Read: India National Cricket Team Vs England Cricket Team Match Scorecard Tags: Ireland Cricket Team Vs Pakistan National Cricket Team Match Scorecard