Babar Azam anchors Pakistan to narrow win over Ireland
The Pakistan national cricket team managed to scrape through to a victory in their final group stage match of the ongoing T20 World Cup against Ireland on Sunday. Chasing a modest total of 107 runs, the Pakistani batsmen struggled badly in the middle overs before captain Babar Azam played a valuable innings to steer his side to a three wicket win.
Earlier, the Pakistani bowlers had restricted Ireland to a below par score. Left arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was extremely impressive with the new ball, picking up two early wickets. Medium pacer Mohammad Amir also chipped in with a couple of crucial scalps. Spinner Imad Wasim cleaned up the lower middle order and ended with figures of 3 for 8 as Ireland were bowled out for 106.
However, Pakistan gifted the initiative right back with a disastrous batting display in the powerplay. Regular wickets put them in a hole at 62 for 6. But Babar (32*) anchored the innings and found support from the lower order to take the team over the line. The contest went down to the wire but Babar's calm presence helped Pakistan cling on to a much needed victory.
This win, though dead rubber, prevented further embarrassment for Pakistan on the international stage. Their tournament ended with a fourth place finish in Group A having won just one game. The middle order failures that hurt them throughout the competition returned to haunt them here as well. Babar's captain's knock saved them the blushes yet again. But bigger challenges surely await the Green shirts who must improve significantly in T20 cricket going forward.
