An imperiously accurate bowling spell from Shaheen Shah Afridi and quick half-centuries from Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam took Pakistan to a six-wicket win over Ireland to complete a 2-1 T20I series victory in Dublin on Tuesday.
Ireland, inspired by a 41-ball 73 from stand-in captain Lorcan Tucker, put up a competitive 178. But Babar and Rizwan made light work of what was, in truth, a below-par total, and another tame bowling performance and sloppy fielding effort from Ireland meant the result was beyond doubt long before the winning runs were struck.
After Babar won the toss and asked Ireland to bat as in the second game, Shaheen and Mohammad Amir bowled a tidy first three overs in stark contrast to the manner in which the two were taken apart two days earlier. Shaheen got his first wicket in that period, but Hasan Ali conceded 16 in his first over as Andy Balbirnie and Tucker began to make up for lost time. Off 49 eventful deliveries as Pakistan’s bowling plans fell apart slightly, Ireland’s second-wicket partnership plundered 85, seemingly setting themselves up for a score around 200.
But, spearheaded by a spell from Shaheen during which he nailed his yorkers almost at will, Ireland collapsed. His four overs allowed a miserly 14 runs and yielded three wickets while his team-mates chipped in around him. Tucker holed out against a typically tidy Imad Wasim and the men who followed never came close to carrying on from where he left off. Ireland managed just 49 in the last seven as Pakistan’s quality shone through, and ceded momentum.
The most significant setback for Pakistan was the continuation of Saim Ayub’s lean run, the opener top-edging one to short third early on. But in the sort of middling chase they thrive on, Rizwan and Babar took full advantage, Babar bedding himself in while Rizwan lit the powerplay up. The two swapped roles once the fielding restrictions lifted, and Babar benefitted from George Dockrell putting him down on 19. As on Sunday, Ireland fell away after that, with Babar capitalising on uninspiring bowling to steamroll his way to a 42-ball 75. Ireland managed a late cluster of wickets as Pakistan galloped towards the finishing line, but the inevitable end came with a full three overs to spare.
