The three-match series is tied at 1-1, with hosts Ireland winning the first and Pakistan winning the second.
Dublin: The men in green, led by Pakistan captain Babar Azam, beat Ireland by six wickets in the third and final T20I to clinch the series 2-1.
The hosts suffered a setback, losing early wickets, but the Green Shirts made a stunning comeback in the series by winning the game by a considerable margin. The captain combined with Mohammad Rizwan to contribute a half-century after 3/14 off Shaheen Shah Afridi’s brilliant bowling that turned the crucial game.
Opener Saim Ayub was caught by George Dockrell off Mark Adair after scoring just 14 runs. Rizwan then took over and scored 56 runs before being bowled by Mark Adair.
Captain Babar Azam played a much-needed innings of 75 runs before Curtis Kämfer was caught out by Craig Young. Azam Khan remained out with 18 runs, while Iftikhar Ahmed scored 5 runs and was caught by Kurtis Campher off Mark Adair.
Pakistan win the #IREvPAK T20I series #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/Y2DhX4WRkj
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 14, 2024
After being asked to bat first by Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Ireland reached 178 for 7 in the allotted 20 overs. After losing Ross Adair (7) in the third over, Andrew Balburnie (35) and skipper Lorcan Tucker (73) put the team back on track with an 85-run partnership. Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tucker (30) put on another 32-run partnership to set the stage for a strong finish.
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But the hosts kept losing wickets at regular intervals and ended on 178/7 as none of the batsmen, apart from Graham Hume (10), could reach double figures. Shaheen Shah Afridi took three wickets, Abbas Afridi took two wickets, and Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim took one wicket each.
The three-match series is tied at 1-1, with hosts Ireland winning the first and Pakistan winning the second.
Squads
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Hassan Ali, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir
Ireland: Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (c & wk), Ben White, Craig Young
