DUBLIN – Pakistan beat Ireland by seven wickets in the second T20I in Dublin on Sunday evening to level the three-match series 1-1.
Chasing a challenging 194-run target for victory, Pakistan crossed the finishing line on the penultimate ball of the 17th over with seven wickets in hand. After losing Saim Ayub and skipper Babar Azam (o) in the second over with just 13 runs on the board, Mohammad Rizwan (75 not out) and Fakhar Zaman (78) stitched 140-run partnership to bring the team close to the victory. After losing Fakhar Zaman, cameo of Azam Khan (30 not out) helped the side achieve the victory target for the loss of three wickets with 3.1 overs to spare. Mark Adair, Graham Hume and Ben White bagged one wicket each. Mohammad Rizwan was named player of the match.
After being asked to bat first by Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, Ireland managed to reach 193/7 in the allotted 20 overs. Lorcan Tucker was the top scorer with 51 runs followed by Herry Tector who made 32. Gareth Delany made 28, Curtis Campher 22, Andy Balbirnie 16, George Dockrell 15, skipper Paul Stirling 11 and Mark Adair nine runs. Shaheen Shah Afridi bagged three wickets and Abbas Afridi two while Naseem Shah and Mohammad Amir got one wicket each.
The match was delayed by half an hour due to rain. Later, rain set in again when Pakistan come out to the field, further delaying the start of the proceedings.
Pakistan Playing XI: Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir
Ireland Playing XI: Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Andrew Bilbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Ben White, Craig Young
