The last over… 11 needed off 6 balls. Ireland beat Pakistan in a thrilling encounter.
Last over thriller PAK vs IRE: India defeated England by 5 wickets in the first T20I. Ireland chased down the target with a ball to spare in the final over. India needed 11 runs to win in the last over. But Curtis Campher and Gareth Delany pulled off a historic win for Ireland. Actually, the responsibility of bowling the last over was on the shoulder of Abbas Afridi. But Curtis Campher and Gareth Delany batted brilliantly against Abbas and made the team win. In fact, Pakistan captain Babar spoke to Abbas Afridi quite late and asked him to bowl the last over.
The last 5 balls (Last Over Thriller)
First ball, Abbas Afridi hits a boundary off the first ball of Abbas Afridi’s over. Abbas bowled a short ball to which Campher hit the bat. The ball went for a boundary.
No run off the second ball.
Now needing 7 runs off 4 balls, the players of both teams were out of breath.
In the third ball, Campher took two runs and brought the excitement of the match to the peak. India need 5 runs in 3 balls. The pressure seemed to be building on Afridi.
Fourth ball – Campher’s boundary, match tied, Abbas Afridi bowled an inswinging yorker on the stumps. Campher drove but the ball took a thick inside edge of the bat and the ball went towards deep backward square leg. Fielder Naseem chased the ball but in the end the ball went out of the boundary line. Pakistan’s hopes were dashed. The Irish team came close to creating history.
Fifth ball – Leg bye and Ireland managed to win the match by 5 wickets.
Batting first, Pakistan scored 182 runs in the stipulated 20 overs. For Pakistan, Babar Azam top-scored with 57 while Saeed Ajmal contributed 45. Ireland, on the other hand, won the match by 5 wickets. For Ireland, Andrew Balbirnie played an innings of 77 runs which laid the foundation of the victory, Andrew Balbirnie scored 77 runs in 55 balls with 10 fours – 2 sixes which changed the match. Ireland now lead Pakistan 1-0 in the three-match series. Fans are singing Ireland’s praises on social media.