Pakistan beat Ireland by 6 Wickets to Win Series 2-1

After losing the opening Twenty20 International, Pakistan bounced back to win the three-match series, winning the final six wickets at Dublin’s Clontarf Cricket Club Ground. Mohammad Rizwan’s 38-ball 56, Babar Azam’s 75-run innings, and Shaheen Afridi’s economical three-fer all contributed to Pakistan’s sweeping victory.

With 18 balls remaining, Pakistan easily reached their winning goal of 179 thanks to a crucial second-wicket stand of 139 between Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. In his 42-ball 75, captain Babar blasted six fours and five sixes, including four from a Ben White over. Rizwan’s 56 from 38 balls was his 28th T20 fifty on the international scene.

Babar had earlier chosen to field first after winning the toss. Paul Stirling was rested, and Ireland’s captain was Lorcan Tucker. In the opening over, Shaheen was struck for two fours by Andrew Balbirnie. Against Mohammad Amir, Ross Adair struck the first six of the inning. Ross was dismissed by Shaheen in his subsequent over. In the fourth over of his comeback, Tucker struck Hasan Ali for two fours and a six.

Ireland entered the powerplay overs at 50/1. Leggie Saim Ayub was brought into the attack by Babar in the ninth over. Tucker was given a mercy when Azam Khan failed to stump him easily. After needing just 29 balls to achieve his half-century, Tucker salted the wounds for Ireland.

Andy Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker’s second-wicket partnership of 85 from 49 balls was the foundation of Ireland’s score of 178 for seven. In a 41-ball 73, Tucker smashed 13 fours and a six, but Ireland was 95 for 1 at the midway point and failed to capitalise.

Ireland Score – 178/7 in 20.0 overs
Ireland batting:
Lorcan Tucker 73(41)
Andy Balbirnie 35(26)
Shaheen Afridi 4-14-3
Abbas Afridi 4-43-2

Second Innings
Pakistan Score – 181/4 in 17.0 overs
Pakistan batting:
Babar Azam 75(42)
Mohammad Rizwan 56(38)
Mark Adair 4-28-3
Craig Young 4-49-1

Shaheen Afridi, Player of the Match: “We tried to hit our lines and lengths and that was the reason for our success. Last two matches, we bowled too full at the start. We have a strong bowling attack and have seniors to guide each other so we just needed partnerships in bowling. For us, before World Cup, it’s important to have these games to ready ourselves and there are a few areas to improve. They’re both world class players and they know how to play their role and they have done really well on this pitch.”

Babar Azam, Pakistan Captain: “I think all the credit Ireland batters. They played first (half), but Amir Abbas Shaheen, Hassan Ali bowled well. They were 110 at end of 11th but we took a few wickets and put pressure on them. We were good at the death. We enjoyed crowd presence and we tried to entertain them. We had good communication in the middle because we have played a lot of cricket together; we were trying to play on our strengths with belief and aim was to match with the run rate. Big tournament coming up and this is good practice and now looking forward to the England series. lots of positives for us and we were able to execute our plans. Yes we made a few mistakes which we will sit and discuss.”

Lorcan Tucker, Ireland Captain: “It was brilliant and a great privilege to captain. It would have been nice to start with a win. It was nice to get out there and experience, who knows what’s going to happen in America. We set up a platform nicely but unfortunately, we couldn’t finish well. We gave everyone a go with the ball. Credit to the lads, they bowled well in tough conditions. Maybe it was a bit disappointing with the result but we had positives from the series. We don’t know what’s going to happen in New York in a couple of weeks but let’s hope for the best.”