Pakistan and Ireland Gearing Up for T20 World Cup Post Dublin Series
Ireland vs Pakistan: The Scorecard
Both Pakistan and Ireland are optimistic that their recent T20I series in Dublin will serve as a valuable experience for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Securing a narrow 2-1 series victory with a six-wicket win over Ireland on Tuesday, Pakistan is now set to travel to England for a four-match series against the reigning T20 World Cup champions. This comes ahead of the tournament in the USA and West Indies.
Pakistan sealed the series victory with a comprehensive win in the third T20I. #IREvPAK : https://t.co/0yqayRuPwq pic.twitter.com/xwkl4dRIyN
Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan’s pace spearhead, showcased excellent form during the Ireland series. The left-armer ended the series as the leading wicket-taker with seven wickets at an average of 12.71.
Series Leading Wicket-Takers
| Player | Team | Wickets Taken |
|---|---|---|
| Shaheen Afridi | Pakistan | 7 |
| Abbas Afridi | Pakistan | 6 |
| Mark Adair | Ireland | 5 |
| Colin Young | Ireland | 3 |
| Imad Wasim | Pakistan | 2 |
| Naseem Shah | Pakistan | 2 |
| Mohammad Amir | Pakistan | 2 |
Experienced batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan also found their rhythm, with each scoring a half-century in the series decider. They ended the three-game series as the joint leading run-scorers with 132 runs each.
Series Leading Run-Scorers
| Player | Team | Runs Scored |
|---|---|---|
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | 132 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan | 132 |
| Andy Balbirnie | Ireland | 128 |
| Lorcan Tucker | Ireland | 128 |
| Fakhar Zaman | Pakistan | 98 |
| Harry Tector | Ireland | 98 |
Shaheen Afridi praised the efforts of Babar and Rizwan and expressed confidence that the series in Ireland has prepared his team well for the T20 World Cup.
“For us, before the World Cup, it’s important to have these games to ready ourselves and there are a few areas to improve,” Afridi said.
“Babar and Rizwan are both world-class players; they know how to play their role and they have done really well on this pitch.”
The form of Babar Azam, in particular, will be a source of encouragement for Pakistan ahead of the T20 World Cup. The skipper’s innings of 75 came from just 42 deliveries, featuring a joint career-best five sixes and an impressive strike-rate of 178.57.
Babar smashed four sixes from one Ben White over to put Pakistan in the ascendancy, combining with Rizwan for a partnership of 139 for the second wicket.
“We had good communication in the middle because we have played a lot of cricket together; we were trying to play on our strengths and the aim was to match with the run rate,” Babar noted.
“Lots of positives for us to take and we were able to execute our plans.
“We have a big tournament coming up and this is good practice; we are now looking forward to the England series.”
A batting masterclass from Babar Azam in Dublin #IREvPAK pic.twitter.com/VLgs4fTUpQ
Despite losing the series, Ireland will be encouraged by the performances of several of their players as they prepare for another T20 World Cup campaign.
Andy Balbirnie showed good form at the top of Ireland’s batting order, tall right-arm seamer Mark Adair took five wickets, and Lorcan Tucker hit a superb 73 in the final game of the series when filling in as captain for usual skipper Paul Stirling who was rested.
Congratulations Lorcan Tucker, who captains Ireland’s senior men’s side for the first time today
Go well, Lorcan! #IREvPAK #BackingGreen ☘️ pic.twitter.com/xzPyheyaDl
Tucker revealed he enjoyed deputising for Stirling during the series decider and the 27-year-old said there were plenty of positives for his side to take into the T20 World Cup
“It was brilliant and a great privilege to captain,” Tucker said. “It would have been nice to start with a win.
“We set up a platform nicely but unfortunately, we couldn’t finish well. We gave everyone a go with the ball. Credit to the lads, they bowled well in tough conditions.
“Maybe it was a bit disappointing with the result but we had positives from the series.”