All-rounder Kevin O’Brien is confident Ireland can claim a series win over Pakistan after Thursday’s dramatic tie in the first RSA Insurance one-day international in Dublin.
O’Brien swept the final ball from Saeed Ajmal to the boundary to level the scores and leave the hosts agonisingly short of a first-ever win against a Test-playing nation in the Republic.
Asked if he thought Ireland could win Sunday’s decider and claim a first series win over a full-member nation, he said: “Yeah definitely, there’s no reason to fear Pakistan.”
He continued: “They are obviously a great side, you have to give them the respect they deserve, but we’ve come so close here.
“If the ball bounces another way on Sunday we come away with a victory.
“We just have to look at where we didn’t quite perform as a team and come back on Sunday and improve it.”
Pakistan had appeared in full control when Mohammad Hafeez’s fifth ODI century helped them to 266 for five – a total bumped up to 275 on the Duckworth-Lewis Method after three over were lost to rain.
Ireland were, however, on track for the majority of their chase after opener Paul Stirling scored his second century against Pakistan in as many games.
O’Brien then almost completed the job, thrashing an unbeaten 84 from 47 balls, to leave the series poised heading into Sunday’s decider.
Due to the all-rounder’s brilliant power-hitting, the encounter ended in a tie, with the second match scheduled to be played at the same venue on Sunday.
Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and opted to bat first in excellent batting conditions, although the overhead conditions remained cloudy in the morning. Because of a splendid 188-run partnership between Mohammad Hafeez and Asad Shafiq, the Green Shirts posted a healthy total of 266 runs for the loss of five wickets on the board in their allotted 47 overs.
Needing 276 runs to win as per the Duckworth Lewis Method, the home team were off to a superb start through Paul Stirling, who registered a wonder ton. However, it was O’Brien, who took it upon himself and guided his side to safety but only managed a tie.
While speaking to reporters after the fixture, the 29-year-old cricketer expressed his disappointment and rues the fact that he failed to help his team cross the line against Pakistan.
“It feels like a loss as we came so close, but just couldn’t get over the line,” O’Brien said. “If I had left [Saeed] Ajmal’s delivery, it could have been a wide, but that is hindsight. You are in the moment and you just swing a bat on it. We are not out to tie games, and that is why it feels like a loss, to be honest.”
On the other side of the coin, Asad Shafiq, the Pakistan batsman, admitted that Ireland gave his side an extremely tough time in the opening ODI.
“They played very well, and we are expecting another tough match,” Shafiq said. “It will be very good preparation for our Champions Trophy campaign [in England in June].”
With the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 just around the corner, Pakistan needs to raise their game in order to be competitive in the mega event.
