The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
So that's it from us then. It was an entertaining match, though we won't see either of the teams take part in the rest of the tournament. But there is plenty of action coming your way. Bangladesh take on Nepal at 05:00 a.m. IST and Netherlands take on Sri Lanka at 06:00 a.m. IST. There are a lot at stakes with the final spot in the Super Eight depending on the outcome of these matches. You know where to follow these! Until then, this is Bala and Pradeep signing off. Goodnight!
With the World Cup campaign coming to a close for both the sides, the thick tank will have plenty to ponder. The middle-order of Pakistan has looked wafer thin. They need to find stability there to find consistency. They must also be looking for some firepower at the top. With Babar and Rizwan in top-three, they need a genuine hitter to give them rapid starts in this format of the game.
Ireland too have their woes at the top. They have been awful in the powerplays throughout the last year or so. The top-order has failed to get going time and again, losing too many wickets at the top. The Irish fans and the cricket world in general have had high hopes of the side, especially after their promotion to a full-member nation. But they would be the first to agree that the graph hasn't gone in the right direction.
Ireland needed their bowlers and fielders to be on top of their game to make and match of this. And they contributed well for the most part. When Mohammad Rizwan skied one to deep square leg, the hearts of the Irish fans would have skipped a beat, but Mark Adair was as cool as it gets, making a tough grab look pretty easy at the boundary. Take a look at what the big fast bowler pulled off.
Babar Azam (Pakistan captain): Yes, we finished well. We started well with the ball, picking some early wickets. In the batting, we did not finish well. When we lose back to back wickets, this happens. With the bowling, we were good, the conditions suited us. When it comes to batting, we lost a few wickets, both in the US game and India game. If the team needs me to open, I'll open. Whatever the team needs, I'll be happy to do. We have a good bunch of players. First we will go back and will have a discussion where we need to work on.
Paul Stirling (Ireland captain): Look I'm proud of the fight we've shown, we were 30-5 and managed to get to that score in the end which wasn't too far away. With the ball, thought we will lose by 8 wickets and go home, but the fight shown means, we want to play good cricket and we were little a bit too far today, but I'm proud of the fight shown. It's about getting balance right, in T20 cricket you need that tempo, we haven't got that quite right, we needed to go hard at certain times but couldn't. It's been a difficult couple of weeks, we will regroup in the next couple of months and years to come.
Shaheen Afridi is the Player of the Match! Here's what he has to say: Wicket was supporting the new ball, hit the good areas and struck early. My area to bowl fuller, it's different for each bowlers and the plan was simple. To be honest, we didn't play the good cricket which was needed, few areas we need to improve quickly with Champions Trophy coming up. Proud of the crowd, they come in big numbers wherever we go, thanks for them. That's my job, I come in late and whenever need me, I try to hit a few lusty blows.
Pakistan win by 3 wickets with 7 balls remaining!
Pakistan 111/7 (18.5 overs) Babar Azam 32*(34) | Mohammad Rizwan 17(16) Barry McCarthy 3/15 (4) | Curtis Campher 2/24 (4)
Pakistan win in the end, but it was not a cakewalk by any stretch of imagination. And when Pakistan is playing, you can almost alway expect some drama, can't you? They were cruising at a stage when Babar Azam was in company of Fakhar Zaman in the middle of the innings. They looked well set with 52/2 on the board in the 9th over, with just 54 more to get. That's when things took a turn.
Fakhar Zaman fell to a loose shot off Curtis Campher off the first delivery of his spell. Usman Khan and Shadab Khan followed suit with 57 runs on the board and the score suddenly read 57/5 in 10 overs. It soon turned to 62/6 with Imad Wasim falling in the next over. Ireland was filled with energy at that point but they were digging deep into their bowling resources.
Abbas Khan joined Babar Azam in the middle and ensured that the scorecard ticked over. Abbas took some calculated risks to ensure that Ireland are kept under pressure and Babar played carefully at the other end to ensure that he sees the team home. The 33 run partnership between the two ensured that the side overcame the pressure built in the middle overs. The twin sixes by Shaheen Afridi ensured that the game was done and dusted before the final over.
Ireland wouldn't be unhappy with their bowling effort. They would just rue the fact that their batters didn't give them enough on the board to defend. Barry McCarthy and Curtis Campher were the real stars with the ball. Adair and Little failed to find a breakthrough with the new ball but McCarthy soon sent the openers back. And when Babar and Fakhar were running away with the game, it was Campher who came in and broke the partnership. His knack of picking up wickets certainly kept Ireland in the game for a long time during the chase.
18.5 Gareth Delany to Shaheen Afridi, SIX! GAME OVER! Couple of lusty blows is all that was needed and Shaheen got the job done for them. Ireland kept fighting, but they just didn't have enough runs on the board. Pakistan hold on to their nerve and finish the tournament on a high with a win. Floated a length delivery, just outside the off-stump, Shaheen sits on one knee and absolutely pounded it way over deep mid-wicket for a huge maximum.
18.4 Gareth Delany to Babar Azam, length delivery on the middle and off. Babar leans and works it to long-on for one.
18.3 Gareth Delany to Shaheen Afridi, DROPPED! Stirling with a good effort at first slip but bursts through the hands. Tossed up a length delivery outside the off-stump, another googly. Shaheen with a wild slog across the line, takes a thick outside edge.
18.3 Gareth Delany to Shaheen Afridi, WIDE! Loopy length delivery but Delany tried to keep it wide of the batter, but goes outside the tramline, called a wide.
Afridi breaks the game!
18.2 Gareth Delany to Shaheen Afridi, SIX! BANG! Stunning blow from Shaheen. Floated a full delivery outside the off-stump, Shaheen sits on one knee and clubbed it way over long-on boundary for a big hit.
18.1 Gareth Delany to Babar Azam, OH! Short mid-wicket with a dive to his left, can't stop it. Length delivery on the leg-stump, Babar stroked it down to long-on for one.
White strikes, but it's still not Babar Azam. 12 required off 12 now. If they can push it to the final over, strange things can happen. Hope still alive for Ireland.
18
overs
95/7score
0
1
1
W
0
0
runs
Shaheen Afridi*
0(2)
Babar Azam
30(32)
Ben White
1/11
17.6 Ben White to Shaheen Afridi, OH! Googly again from White, good stuff. Short and spinning away a bit. Shaheen waits on the backfoot and keeps it out.
17.5 Ben White to Shaheen Afridi, OH! Drops it short, spun back in sharply and finishes on the off-stump. Shaheen camps back to defend, but gets a thick inside edge back on to the pad.
Sign in with Google
Continue with Facebook
Mobile
Email
Video
;'/></svg>)
H Rauf
M Adair
;'/></svg>){kind=small}
Shaheen Afridi
*
Ben White
Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill
![[Watch] Mark Adair takes stunning catch at boundary ropes to dismiss Mohammad Rizwan in PAK vs IRE 2024 T20 World Cup match](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/06/543ec-17185596076680-1920.jpg)
