Ireland, without a doubt, are the best associate side outside the test playing group but they still have a long way to go before they can join the elite league. That was evident when their batting couldn’t stand a hostile spell from Pakistan pacer Junaid Khan. The victory was a sort of revenge for the visitors who were knocked out of the 2007 world Cup by Ireland in West Indies.
For the visitors, bowlers came up with the goods in the rain truncated match but the batting did not get a move on consuming nearly 28 overs in a small chase. The bowling as expected was all over the weak Irish batting, the hosts couldn’t even cross three figures on a seaming pitch against a quality attack.
However, Kevin O’ Brien who hogged lot of limelight for his stunning ton in the 2011 WC remains a real threat for the opposition. Their bowlers, on the contrary, are a bigger challenge given their suitability to the damp seaming conditions. They would look to maximize whatever resources at their disposal to further strengthen their claim of a berth in the next World Cup.
This being a two match series leaves Ireland with little chance of making a comeback. They will have to take giant strides in their batting to put up any sort of challenge against Pakistan, who are fresh from a decent showing in the Caribbean. Pakistan have batting worries of their own especially against the moving ball. They would try to iron out such kinks and give their batsman an opportunity to tackle the tough batting conditions if the unpredictable Irish weather permits. A 2-0 whitewash is nevertheless a good result for any team on foreign soil.
IRELAND SQUADWilliam Porterfield (c), Alex Cusack ,Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones , Ed Joyce, Niall McDonnell ,John Mooney ,Kevin O`Brien, Niall O`Brien (wk), Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling ,Albert Van der Merwe ,Andrew White ,Gary Wilson
PAKISTAN SQUADMisbah-ul-Haq (c), Younis Khan, Taufeeq Umar, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Salman (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Tanvir Ahmed, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam
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