Sarfraz Ahmed scores century as Pakistan beat Ireland by 7 wickets, qualify for quarter-finals of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Pakistan have beaten Ireland by 7 wickets of  ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Pool B match 42 at Adelaide, courtesy of an unbeaten century by wicket keeper Sarfraz Ahmed and have therefore qualified to the quarter-finals. They will now face Australia at the same venue on March 18.  Ahmed Shehzad and Sarfraz Ahmed's 120-run opening stand gave Pakistan an excellent start and the middle-order made sure that they cashed in on it. Ahmed Shehzad made 63 before he played a rash short to get out. LIVE CRICKET SCORES AND UPDATES: Pakistan (PAK) vs Ireland (IRE) Haris Sohail fell cheaply but Misbah-ul-Haq then came in and steadied things and ensured that another wicket did not fall at that period, which would've put Ireland in command. He put on 82 runs for the third wicket along with Sarfraz before he was hit wicket off the bowling of Alex Cusack, with Pakistan just 30 runs away from victory. LIVE CRICKET SCORES AND UPDATES: Pakistan (PAK) vs Ireland (IRE) Ireland Skipper William Porterfield scored his seventh One-Day International (ODI) century, his first in the World Cup to ensure that Ireland reached this respectable score. Ireland started the innings at a slow pace and the early wicket of Paul Stirling made things worse for Ireland. Porterfield and Ed Joyce then put on 45 runs for the second wicket but Joyce then played a rash shot to give Wahab Riaz his first wicket of the match. Live cricket streaming: Pakistan vs Ireland Niall O’Brien the  walked in and could not get the momentum into the innings. He tried his best was eventually dismissed by Rahat Ali for a 10-ball 12. This was followed by two 48-run stands, the first one was between Porterfield and Andy Balbirnie and the next one was between Porterfield and Gary Wilson. That added some sort of stability to the innings and Porterfield reached his century in this period. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 He was however dismissed soon after getting to the third figure mark. He fell for 107 off 131 deliveries off the bowling of Sohail Khan. Gary Wilson (29) and Stuart Thompson (12) soon fell one after another with Ireland at 204 for seven in the 44th over, on the verge of being bowled out. A lot depended on hard-hitting batsman Kevin O’Brien from here on to get Ireland to a match-winning score. Unfortunately he managed just eight, dismissed in the 48th over after he was dropped earlier. Top 10 bowlers in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 John Mooney (13) was the next to fall after Ireland touched the 230-run mark. Dockrell’s huge six of Wahab Raiz in the final over came out of absolutely nowhere, but Ireland will be disappointed not to have gottn more runs. Dockrell was run out off the final ball of the innings and have gotten bowled out in the last ball of the innings. They’re easily about 30 runs short for their liking. Top 10 wicketkeepers in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Ireland had earlier won the toss and elected to bat first. Mohammad Irfan and Younis Khan miss out for Pakistan due to injury with Ehsan Adil and Haris Sohail named as their replacement. Ireland have made no changes to their side from their defeat to India in the previous match. This is a must win match for both teams as it will take them to the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Click here for Top 10 fielders in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Brief scores: Ireland 237  in 50 overs (William Porterfield 107, Gary Wilson 29;  Wahab Riaz 3 for 54 ) beat Pakistan 241 for 3 in 46.1 overs (Ahmed Shehzad 63, Sarfraz Ahmed 101*; Alex Cusack 1 for 43 ) by 7 wickets Man of the Match: Sarfraz Ahmed Full Scorecard Photo Gallery (Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)