The last dance for Pakistan turned out to be a pleasurable one, as Shaheen Shah Afridi’s fiery spell with the ball and quickfire blitz with the bat pushed Pakistan to a thrilling 3-wicket win over Ireland on Sunday.
In the final match for both sides in the T20 World Cup 2024, it was Pakistan who won the toss and elected to bowl first. And it was nothing short of Pakistani pace perfection in full effect, as the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammed Amir and Haris Rauf all shone bright to dismantle the Irishmen at will.
The innings started off in disastrous fashion for the Irish, who were merely witnesses to the swinging brilliance of Afridi and Amir, who both left Ireland at a paltry 32/5 by the end of the powerplay.
The most unlikely of heroes then arose for Ireland, as Delaney and Adair went on an attacking tear, pummeling the likes of Rauf and Abbas for boundaries at will, as the pair dragged the Irish out of rock bottom, to show some character.
But, the introduction of Imad Wasim spelt trouble as he spun the ball and the Irish batters around, to dismiss the duo and ultimately scalp three in just 2 overs.
Shortly after, it wasn’t merely a formality for Pakistan, as the tail-enders lingered on till the end and pestered the ace pacers as Joshua Little denied the opposition the pleasure of being bowled out, putting up a stand of 22* off 18 balls to end the Irish innings.
All Pakistan needed was a composed innings from their batters to ease their way to a win. But, Ireland would prove to be a thorn in their side, as Adair and McCarthy would come in to remove both openers by the end of the powerplay to push them to 39-2.
Skipper Babar Azam took to the crease and the talisman batter looked in fine form, to bring about some stability in the order.
But, the same couldn’t be said about Babar’s strike partners as Campher and McCarthy came back into the attack and scalped two more wickets each in the blink of an eye.
As a result, Pakistan stood at a staggering 62-6 in 11 overs, as the Irishmen looked on with a newfound sense of hope and pride on the field.
After holding on through the remainder of the spell from McCarthy, the onus was now on Babar to guide his team to victory and save face before leaving the tournament.
Needing 26 runs off the last 30 balls, Babar held the fort down on one end with calculated strokes and defense, allowing Abbas Afridi to play loose and find some crucial boundaries to ease the load off the batters in timely fashion.
And just when it seemed as if Pakistan had clinched it, Benjamin White came in to spin the ball and Pakistan around on their heads, as he dismissed the set Abbas at the brink of the 19th over to pile the pressure on Babar’s side again.
But, a fiery blitz of 13 runs off 5 balls from pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi sealed the deal, as Pakistan clinched a 3-wicket win over Ireland.
The results created no change in the tide for either sides, who are both officially eliminated from the T20 World Cup, but was rather an occasion for one team to have bragging rights over the other and save face.
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