Ireland swept the two-match One-Day international series with a clinical eight-wicket win over United Arab Emirates, at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Saturday (March 4).
Skipper William Porterfield anchored their chase of 203 with a brilliant 94-ball 76, after the bowling unit, led by three-wicket hauls from Andy McBrine and Craig Young, helped Ireland bundle out the inexperienced UAE side for a modest total inside 48 overs. Porterfield was supported by fellow opener Paul Stirling (41) and Andrew Balbirnie (58 not out) as Ireland overhauled the target with more than eight overs to spare.
UAE’s decision to bat first didn’t yield the desired results as McBrine and Young sent back the top order cheaply to leave them reeling at 43 for 3 well within the mandatory powerplay. Shaiman Anwar (48) and Rameez Shahzad (41) started the repair work and forged together a stand worth 76 runs for the fourth wicket to take UAE past the 100-run mark. But just as the partnership threatened to take the hosts to a competitive score, George Dockrell dismissed both the set batsmen in the space of six overs. Both the middle-order batsmen missed their half-centuries – falling for 48 and 41 respectively.
Muhammad Usman battled hard but found little support at the other end as UAE lost four of their tailenders for a mere addition of 16 runs to the total. Zahoor Khans late blitz—16 off 10 that included two boundaries and a six—helped the total sneak past the 200-run mark. But with the Irish skipper in top form, the chase was completed rather comfortably.
Porterfield put on a 94-run opening stand with Stirling, who became the third batsmen on the day to narrowly miss his fifty. His 65-ball 41, however, included three hits to the fence and the only one of the chase that went over the ropes. Imran Haider provided the breakthrough but the damage had already been one.
One-down batsman Balbirnie ensured that Ireland built on the solid platform provided by the openers and combined with his skipper for a 57-run second-wicket stand that all but sealed the fate of the contest, and the series.
Porterfield fell for 76, when Ireland were still 52 shy but Balbirnie ensured there were no further hiccups as Ireland polished off the chase off the penultimate ball of the 42nd over. His 67-ball unbeaten effort included seven boundaries.
Brief scores: UAE 202 all out in 47.5 overs (Shaiman Anwar 48, Rameez Shahzad 41; Andy McBrine 3-42, Craig Young 3-48) lost to Ireland 203/2 in 41.5 overs (William Porterfield 76, Andrew Balbirnie 58*, Paul Stirling 41) by eight wickets.