Shaheen, Babar, and Rizwan outclass Ireland as Pakistan wins the series.
For Ireland, Lorcan Tucker’s 41-ball 73 and Mark Adair’s three for 28 were the noteworthy performances.
Pakistan 181 for 4 (Babar 75, Rizwan 56, Mark Adair 3-28) defeated Ireland 178 for 7 (Tucker 73, Balbirnie 35, Tector 30*, Shaheen 3-14, Abbas 2-43) by six wickets.
Shaheen Shah Afridi’s imperiously accurate bowling spell and rapid half-centuries from Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam propelled Pakistan to a six-wicket victory against Ireland on Tuesday, completing a 2-1 T20I series win in Dublin.
Ireland, led by a 41-ball 73 by stand-in skipper Lorcan Tucker, scored a competitive 178. However, Babar and Rizwan made easy work of what was, in reality, a below-par total, and Ireland’s mediocre bowling and shoddy fielding ensured the outcome well before the winning runs were scored.
After Babar won,
However, Ireland disintegrated because to a spell by Shaheen in which he hit his yorkers nearly at will. His four overs yielded just 14 runs and three wickets, as his teammates chipped in around him. Tucker holed out against a typically neat Imad Wasim, and the men who followed never came close to picking up where he left off. Ireland scored only 49 in the last seven games as Pakistan’s talent shone through, causing Ireland to lose momentum.
The most notable setback for Pakistan was the continuance of Saim Ayub’s poor form, with the opener edging one to short third early on. However, Rizwan and Babar took full advantage of the middling pursuit in which they thrive, with Babar bedding himself in while Rizwan lit up the powerplay. Once the fielding limits were lifted, the two swapped roles, with Babar benefiting from George Dockrell sending him down on 19. As on Sunday, Ireland went apart after that, with Babar capitalizing on boring bowling to steamroll to a 42-ball 75. Ireland managed a late cluster of wickets as Pakistan raced towards the finish line, but the inevitable finale arrived with three overs to spare.
Shaheen does it right, and how!
After being penalized for a poor performance in the second game, Shaheen retaliated with the fire of a thousand suns. The opening over was mediocre, with Balbirnie picking him off for two boundaries, but Shaheen went on to land nearly every one of his remaining 18 deliveries on a sixpence, surrendering only six more runs and capturing three wickets.
Most stunning was his ability to hit the yorker on command, initially using inswing to break Ross Adair’s stumps. His final two overs were a display of velocity and accuracy as Ireland’s momentum came to a halt, and Shaheen ended the series with a performance that could mark the beginning of his return to vintage, world-beating form.
Babar – power hitter?
The indecision about who should bat in Pakistan’s top four, and in what sequence, was summed up by a little strange 14th over of the chase. Babar, who is frequently accused of batting sparingly, had a chance to blast six sixes in an over off a clueless Ben White.
Three smooth, looping deliveries were dealt with ease, and when Babar missed a flat fourth, he compensated by slamming the next down the ground for another six. The 25 in that over put his strike rate skyrocketing, making up for another slightly slow start in an innings when, had Dockrell held on to a straightforward chance, Babar would have been on his way to.
Tucker leads from the front:
After a disappointing first few of games, Paul Stirling was rested, and wicketkeeper Tucker took over as captain. Tucker had topped Ireland’s batting order with a half-century in the second game, and in the decider, he punished a rusty Hasan right away. Once he was removed, Pakistan never found a means to stop the scoring from there.
Even Balbirnie, who was going at a run a ball at the time, found another gear, keeping Pakistan under constant strain for the duration of the partnership.
Tucker also ensured that the expected post-powerplay slowness against spin never materialized, as evidenced by his takedown of Saim Ayub in the eleventh over. He took advantage of Pakistan’s unusual decision not to bowl Imad in the first.
