Cricket: Pakistan look to avoid series defeat

Ireland eye triumph as teams contest final ODI today.

Shocked by the result in the opening One-Day International (ODI) that saw Ireland make a spirited comeback to record a thrilling tie, Pakistan will be keen to avoid an embarrassing series-defeat as they contest the final match in Dublin today.

Kevin O’Brien and Paul Stirling gave Pakistan a rude awakening as they came close to overhauling a competitive, rain-revised total in the first ODI and reminded the touring team management that a lot of work needed to be done before the ICC Champions Trophy.

After winning their opening match on the UK tour, the second ODI against Scotland was washed out before the tied result against Ireland meant that Pakistan can no longer experiment and now need a convincing win.

However, that may sound easy to say but, according to O’Brien, Ireland feel they can defeat Pakistan.

“To come so close and not get over the line is tough to take but when we have time to reflect I suppose it will be easier to take,” O’Brien had said after the opening ODI. “We definitely feel we can win the series. We respect Pakistan, they are a great team but we have nothing to fear having come so close here.”

And the right-handed batsman is right. After a shock result during the 2007 World Cup, when Ireland beat Pakistan, another surprise could be in the offing given Pakistan’s mercurial nature.

However, captain Misbahul Haq warned his team to bring about an improvement and avoid what could be a disastrous result before the mega event. “Full credit to Ireland,” said Misbah. “They needed almost 10 an over for the last 12 overs but they batted well and we know we will have to improve our performance.”

Saeed Ajmal, going for plenty in the first match, will also be looking to make amends as will pacemen Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2013.