Imam- UL- Haq unbeaten knock helped Pakistan defeat Ireland by 5 wickets on the 5th and final day of the historic one-off test match played at Malahide, Dublin. It was a great performance by the Ireland team who fought valiantly in the second innings with the bat and also reduced Pakistan to a tricky situation with the ball.
Starting the 5th day on 319 for 7, Mohammad Abbas dismissed the centurion Kevin O Brien on a very first ball he faced today. Boyd Rankin and Kane got out as Ireland were bowled out for 339 with an overall lead of 159 runs. Mohammad Abbas picked all 3 wickets today.
Chasing the target of 160 runs, Tim Murtagh got the early breakthrough dismissing Azhar Ali for 2 runs. Boyd Rankin dismissed Harris Sohail and then Tim Murtagh dismissed Asad Shafiq to put Pakistan under pressure at 14 for 3. Imam UL Haq and Babar Azam steadied the innings with good positive intent. Pakistan went into lunch at 52 for 3.
After the lunch break, both batsmen continued to play good strokes and put pressure on the Ireland bowling line up. Imam UL Haq reached 61 balls while Babar Azam too completed his half-century off 90 balls. Both Imam UL Haq and Babar Azam added 126 runs for the 4th wicket which made sure that Pakistan is on course for a victory.
Babar Azam was dismissed for 59 runs while Pakistan Sarfaraz Ahmed contributed 8 runs. Pakistan won the match by 5 wickets. Imam UL Haq remained not out on 74. For Ireland, Tim Murtagh picked 2 wickets.
Pakistan 310 for 9d in 96 overs ( Faheem Ashraf 83, Asad Shafiq 62, Shadab Khan 55, Tim Murtagh 4/45, Thompson 3/62) and 160 for 5 in 45 overs ( Imam UL Haq 74, Babar Azam 59, Tim Murtagh 2/55) beat
Ireland 339 in 129.3 overs ( Kevin O Brien 118, Thompson 53, Mohammad Aamir 3/63, Mohammad Abbas 5/66) and 130 in 47.2 overs ( Kevin O Brien 40, Gary Wilson 33*, Mohammad Abbas 4/44, Shadab Khan 3/31, Mohammad Aamir 2/9)by 5 wickets
For his brilliant century, Kevin O Brien was named as player of the match.
