Ireland vs Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan fifties power visitors to series-clinching win in 3rd T20I

Dublin: Pakistan blew away Ireland by six wickets and won their Twenty20 series 2-1 on Tuesday. The Pakistanis chased down 193 with 3.1 overs to spare on Sunday to level the series and had no problems overhauling Ireland’s 178 on Tuesday with three overs remaining.

Captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan crushed the home side’s bowling attack with a second-wicket stand of 139 runs.

Babar lashed 75 off 42 balls and Rizwan clobbered 56 off 38. They were out in consecutive overs on the verge of victory.

Successive sixes by Azam Khan wrapped it up as Pakistan chased the total with six wickets to spare. “Big tournament coming up and this is good practice,” Babar said with the T20 World Cup next month.

Rizwan hardly saw the strike in the first three overs but once he lost his opening partner Saim Ayub, he opened up. Rizwan hit three sixes and four boundaries.

Babar struck four sixes in one Ben White over — the 14th — and finished with five maximums and six boundaries.

He broke Virat Kohli’s record in T20s with his 39th fifty-plus score. Ireland were looking good for eclipsing its Sunday total halfway through its innings.

Captain Lorcan Tucker and opener Andy Balbirnie blazed 85 runs for the second wicket. Balbirnie made 35.

Tucker hit 73 off 41 with 13 boundaries but when he was caught at deep extra cover, Ireland folded in the face of outstanding death bowling. Shaheen Shah Afridi finished with 3-14 off four overs, Mohammad Amir contributed 1-32 and Imad Wasim was an economical 1-23. Pakistan travel to England for a four-match T20 series starting on Tuesday.