Published: Aug 18, 2016, 02:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 30, 2016, 07:05 PM (IST)
Greetings everyone! Welcome to CricketCountry’s live match coverage of the first One-Day International match between Pakistan and Ireland at The Village in Dublin on Thursday. Pakistan will come out stronger against Ireland after their Test series draw against England. The history between these teams is not very old. Pakistan and Ireland have clashed in six ODIs. Out of these Pakistan have emerged as winners in four while the rest were clinched by Ireland. Ireland are coming with better experience in the ODI arena after drawing the series against Afghanistan. The last time these teams met, Pakistan had upper hand as they crashed out Ireland in the group stages of ICC World Cup 2015. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs Ireland,1st ODI at The Village, Malahide, Dublin
Against Afghanistan, most of the credit belonged to opening batsman Ed Joyce and Gary Wilson in the middle-order. Skipper William Porterfield is yet to score big in the ODI after his century in 2013. As for the bowling, Barry McCarthy has sealed his spot in the squad after his performance against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Tim Murtagh is yet another bowler to watch out for as he will face Pakistan after 2013. Kevin O’Brien will also provide helping hand in the bowling as well as scoring the runs. Niall O’Brien and Craig Young make a comeback after their injuries. They will need to up their game against all-round Pakistan side.
Pakistan, in contrast, will find Sami Aslam returning to ODI circuit after his last stint against Bangladesh in 2015. Azhar Ali will continue to lead the ODI side. Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal are not a part of the Pakistani squad as they were axed due to discipline issues. Mohammad Hafeez remains in the squad after his recent ODI performance against New Zealand. Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed remain pick of choice in the middle-order. Amongst the bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Yasir Shah will once again try to gain all the spotlight after their heroics against England in the Test series.
Squads:
Ireland: William Porterfield (c), John Anderson, Peter Chase, Ed Joyce, Tim Murtagh, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Stuart Poynter (wk), Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.
Pakistan: Azhar Ali (c), Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Nawaz.
