Watch cricket video highlights between Ireland vs Pakistan. Pakistan tour of Ireland 2024 third twenty/20 International match, played at Dublin.
Pakistan won the 2-1 Twenty20 International Series in Dublin on Tuesday because to a commanding bowling performance from Shaheen Shah Afridi and fast half-centuries from Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. Pakistan defeated Ireland by six wickets. Ireland scored a competitive 178, led by stand-in skipper Lorcan Tucker’s 41-ball 73. However, Babar and Rizwan easily defeated what was, in reality, a modest score, and Ireland’s inept fielding and meek bowling ensured that the outcome was decided well before the winning runs were achieved.
In sharp contrast to how they were destroyed two days ago, Shaheen and Mohammad Amir bowled a clean opening three overs after Babar won the toss and requested Ireland to bat, much like in the second game. During that time, Shaheen claimed his maiden wicket, but Hasan Ali lost six wickets in his first over as Andy Balbirnie and Tucker started to make up ground. Ireland’s second-wicket combination scored an impressive 85 runs from 49 exciting deliveries, apparently setting themselves up for a score of about 200 as Pakistan’s bowling preparations began to unravel.
However, Ireland crumbled under Shaheen’s spell, in which he almost nailed his yorkers at will. While his teammates chipped in around him, he claimed three wickets in his four overs, which allowed a pitiful 14 runs. Tucker took a hole against an otherwise neat and orderly Wasim, and the men that came after him never really picked up where he left off. In the final seven, they could only muster 49 as Pakistan’s superiority became apparent and they lost ground.
The continuation of Saim Ayub’s thin run, with the opener top-edging one to short third early on, was Pakistan’s worst blow. However, they took full advantage of the kind of mediocre pursuit that both Rizwan and Babar like, with Babar settling in as Rizwan set up the powerplay. After the fielding limits were relaxed, the two switched roles, and Babar benefited from George Dockrell sending him down on 19. After that, much as on Sunday, Ireland collapsed, with Babar using lackluster bowling to bully his way to a 75 off 42 balls. While Pakistan raced towards the finish line, Ireland managed a late burst of wickets, but with three overs remaining, the inevitable ended.
Shaheen retaliated with the fire of a thousand suns after being chastised for a poor performance in the second game. Balbirnie hit him for two boundaries in the first over, which was uneventful. However, Shaheen hit nearly every delivery in the last eighteen deliveries for six, giving up just six more runs and claiming three wickets. His ability to consistently nail the yorker, first breaking Ross Adair’s stumps with an inswing, was most astounding. Ireland’s momentum was broken by his blistering pace and accuracy in his final two overs, and Shaheen concluded the series with a performance that may mark the beginning of his comeback to his classic, world-beating rhythm.
The uncertainty around the order and player selection for Pakistan’s top four at bat was encapsulated in the rather strange 14th over of their chase. Ben White gave Babar, the player who is so frequently blamed for having stingy batting intentions, a little opportunity to knock six sixes in an over. Three delicate, looping deliveries were made with skill, and when Babar missed a fourth that was flat, he made up for it by crushing the following one for a further six. Babar’s strike rate shot up to 25 in that over, compensating for another slightly sluggish start in an innings when he would have reached a 16-ball 19 had Dockrell held onto a straightforward opportunity. Rather, he hit more sixes than all of his teammates put together.
Wicketkeeper Tucker took over as captain in lieu of Paul Stirling, who had been rested following a dismal opening two games. In the second game, Tucker amassed a half-century to lead Ireland’s batting order. Immediately after, in the final, he punished a rusty Hasan. Pakistan was never able to stop the score from that end once he went gone. Balbirnie, who was then going at a run a ball, also discovered an extra gear, so as long as that combination continued, Pakistan would constantly be under pressure.
Tucker also made sure that the anticipated post-powerplay slowdown against spin didn’t really happen, as seen by his tenth-over wicket of Saim Ayub. He also exploited Pakistan’s inexplicable choice to not bowl Imad in the opening 10 overs. In Hasan’s third over, he concluded with three straight fours, taking him out of the attack and perhaps ending his career before Pakistan’s T20 World Cup selection was announced. Perhaps the biggest contrast between Tucker and the batters around him was the fact that Ireland’s gears grind to a half right after Tucker fell.
