(Cricket news) Stirling finished on 162, just 15 runs short of equalling his career-best ODI score of 177 against Canada in 2010. Balbirnie scored his fifteenth ODI fifty while Tector brought up his tenth as Ireland claimed their first win of the tournament.
Having been sent into bat by a youthful UAE side – with four teenagers in their starting XI – Ireland lost opener Andy McBrine (24) leg before wicket, bringing together the pairing of Stirling and Balbirnie. The two batters struck a 184-run second wicket stand – with Stirling reaching his century with a six in the 34th over.
Balbirnie brought up his half-century two balls later, despite being dropped on 45. However, their partnership came to an end in the 39th over, when Balbirnie (66) edged one behind. Having reached his century, Stirling went on an all-out attack. He moved past 150 with his eighth six, but eventually fell on the last ball of the 45th over, caught at deep mid-wicket looking for his ninth maximum Tector chimed in with a breezy half-century, off just 33 balls, and Ireland eventually finished with their second-highest ODI score of 349-4.
In their reply, the UAE scored a firing fifty in the first six overs, as the opening pair of captain Muhammad Waseem and Aryansh Sharma went down on the ball and made some hard-hitting connections from ball and bat. Waseem lost his wicket in unbelievable fashion after being struck in the hand by the ball, the UAE captain dropped his bat with the ball still live and Balbirnie had the presence of mind to throw down the stumps with Waseem seemingly making no attempt to make his ground.
Waseem’s wicket was an important one, as his 45 from 32 balls had Ireland a little bit on the back foot at 58-1, and soon after, Ireland’s bowlers took over. Josh Little removed both Vriitya Aravind and Ethan D’Souza before Ali Naseer was a little unfortunate to lose his wicket as a McBrine delivery beat the batter and ricocheted off the pad of Lorcan Tucker and into the stumps. McBrine followed up by taking the wicket of Aayan Afzal Khan, thanks to a spectacular diving catch by Tector at mid-wicket – with the UAE 109-6 in the 21st over.
A seventh-wicket partnership of 70 between Basil Hameed and Sanchit Sharma did give the UAE some hope late on, but two wickets apiece from Curtis Campher and George Dockrell sealed the win as Ireland won by 138 runs. Ireland will now move on to Harare to play the USA on Friday in the seventh-place playoff semi-final.
MATCH SUMMARY
Ireland Men v UAE Men, ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, Bulawayo, 27 June 2023
Ireland: 349-4 (50 overs; P Stirling 162, A Balbirnie 66; S Sharma 3-46)
UAE: 211 (39 overs; Waseem 45, S Sharma 44; C Campher 2-14)
Ireland Men won by 138 runs
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