Published: Jun 05, 2015, 05:28 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 05, 2015, 05:28 PM (IST)
Ireland have commenced their ICC Intercontinental Cup 2015 campaign in emphatic fashion by dishing out a brutal innings and 26 run defeat to United Arab Emirates (UAE). They’ll be particularly happy about the win, since the winner of the tournament will get an opportunity to play Test cricket.
Ireland scored a mammoth 492 runs in the first innings, on the back of a 232-ball 231 by Ed Joyce. Paul Stirling contributed to Ireland’s cause with an impressive 146. UAE didn’t offer a great response with the bat and fell prey to some amazing bowling from Craig Young and co.
They scored 213 runs in the first innings and Ireland got them to follow on without hesitation. Young starred for Ireland in the first innings, taking four wickets. John Mooney and George Dockrell shared three wickets each to dismantle UAE batting.
UAE were slightly more resilient in the second innings, but still far from good enough. Saqib Ali (51) and Swapnil Patil (63) put on a heavy partnership for the fourth wicket and there was some hope for UAE to save the game, but after the partnership was broken, wickets continued to tumble. UAE were bowled out for 253, falling 26 runs short of making Ireland have to bat again.
Dockrell and Young were once again among the wickets. This time Dockrell took a four-for, while Young picked three. Paul Stirling took a couple of wickets while Tim Murtagh took the one other wicket.
