Published: May 26, 2013, 11:11 PM (IST)
Edited: May 26, 2013, 11:11 PM (IST)
Kamran Akmal smashed 11 boundaries and two sixes in his knock of 81 © Getty Images
Dublin: May 26, 2013
Kamran Akmal guided Pakistan to a two-wicket win over Ireland in the second One-Day International (ODI) at Dublin on Sunday.
With this victory, Pakistan now lead the series 1-0 after the first encounter of the series ended in a thrilling tie.
Inspired by Ed Joyce’s highest ODI score, Ireland set a target of 230 for Pakistan.
However, Pakistan’s chase began on a poor note as they were reduced to four for 17 within the first 10 overs. Experienced batsmen Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq rose to the occasion to stabilise Pakistan’s innings as they added 43 runs for the fifth wicket, before the skipper was dismissed.
Malik, however, continued solidly in the company of Kamran Akmal. Despite wickets falling at the other end, Akmal kept Pakistan in the hunt.
He smashed 11 boundaries and two sixes boundaries in his knock of 81
Earlier, Joyce surpassed his previous best score of 107 against Australia in his unbeaten knock of 116, an innings that included 12 hits to the fence and one huge six.
Pakistan got off to a good start after winning the toss and electing to field first. Ireland lost both their openers with the score on four in the first 20 balls of the innings.
Niall O’Brien and Joyce resurrected their innings with a 65-run partnership for the third wicket. However, Pakistan bowlers soon hit back to grab two wickets in quick succession.
With the run-rate hovering just above three an over, Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien, who had guided the team to a thrilling tie in the first ODI, joined Joyce in the middle to up the scoring rate. He hit five boundaries in his knock of 38, adding 94 crucial runs for the fifth wicket.
Joyce continued collecting valuable runs even as wickets continued to tumble at the other end. He paced his innings well after a cautious start and took charge to up the tempo after the fall of the eighth wicket.
Abdur Rehman was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan as he struck four times to hasten Ireland’s collapse.
Brief scrores:
Ireland 229 for 9 in 50 overs (Ed Joyce 116*, Kevin O’Brien 38; Abdur Rehman 4 for 48) lost to Pakistan 230 for 8 in 48.4 overs (Kamran Akmal 81, Shoaib Malik 43; Trent Johnston 2 for 35) by 2 wickets.
