Pakistan shrugged off the defeat in the first T20I and won the three-match series with a six-wicket win in the decider at Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, Dublin. Shaheen Afridi’s economical three-fer followed by Babar Azam’s 75-run knock, Mohammad Rizwan’s 38-ball 56 helped Pakistan register a comprehensive win.
Azam’s costly missed chance
Earlier, Babar won the toss and opted to field first. Lorcan Tucker captained the Ireland side as Paul Stirling was rested. Andrew Balbirnie hit Shaheen for two fours in the first over. Ross Adair hit the first six of the innings off Mohammad Amir. In his next over, Shaheen knocked over Ross. Hasan Ali in his comeback was hit for a six and two fours by Tucker in the fourth over. Ireland were 50/1 after powerplay overs. In the eighth over, Babar introduced leggie Saim Ayub into the attack. Azam Khan missed an easy stumping to give Tucker a reprieve. Tucker rubbed on Ireland's wounds by reaching his half-century from just 29 balls.
Tucker hits fifty but Pakistan bowlers do damage control
In the 11th over, Balbirnie went for a lofted shot. Rizwan sprinted and put in a dive to take the catch. The opener scored 35 runs from 26 balls. Harry Tector opened his account with a first-ball six. Tucker kept the run rate up by hitting Hasan for three consecutive fours. Imad Wasim ended Tucker's stay at the crease. The skipper's 41-ball 73 featured 13 fours and a six. Shaheen returned to dismiss Neil Rock. George Dockrell hit a six off Wasim. Next ball, he got caught and bowled by Amir. Abbas in his last over dismissed Curtis Campher but Tector hit two fours. In the penultimate over, Shaheen got the better of Mark Adair. He conceded just 14 runs from four overs. Tector's 20-ball 30 cameo and Graham Hume's late strikes helped Ireland post 178/7 on the board.
Rizwan breaks free in powerplay overs
Ayub started the run chase with a boundary. He hit two fours in the next over bowled by Hume. Mark in his second over dismissed Ayub and conceded just three runs. Rizwan hit the first six of the run chase and followed it up with tow fours. In the next over, he hit Craig Young for two sixes and a four. After powerplay overs, Pakistan were 60/1. Babar took on Young and hit two consecutive fours. He got a reprieve when Dockrell dropped his catch off Benjamin White's bowling in the 10th over. In the 14th over, Babar hit four sixes off White to make the equation easy. He reached his fifty from just 31 balls.
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Babar hits 4 sixes in an over
Mark returned and knocked over Rizwan. He scored 56 runs from 38 balls including four fours and three sixes. Young returned to end Babar's stay at the crease. His 42-ball 75 was laced with six fours and five sixes. Iftikhar Ahmed and Khan hit a four reach in the same over. Mark in his last over got the wicket of Iftikhar. But wicketkeeper-batter Azam finished the run chase with two consecutive sixes. Pakistan chased down the target with six wickets in hand and three overs to spare.
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