LAUDERHILL, Fla. (AP) — Pakistan needed allrounder Shaheen Shah Afridi to show off his bowling and batting skills in a three-wicket consolation win over Ireland on Sunday as both cricket teams bowed out of their disappointing Twenty20 World Cup.
Afridi destroyed Ireland’s top-order batters with 3-22 and then smashed a couple of sixes in his unbeaten 13 off five balls as he guided Pakistan to a scrappy 111-7 in 18.5 overs to win its last Group A game. Captain Babar Azam was 32 not out and helplessly watched another batting collapse before Afridi’s little cameo came to Pakistan’s rescue.
After Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first, Afridi’s twin-wicket burst in the opening over had Ireland reeling at only 2 runs for the loss of two wickets. Ireland lost another batter to make it 4-3, and was then 15-4 off the first three overs.
Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim grabbed 3-8 in four overs to restrict Ireland to 106-9 on a lively wicket which had been under cover for most of the last week because of heavy rain in Florida, which had prevented the previous three games at the tournament venue.
“We lost back-to-back wickets, but managed to get over the line in the end,” Babar said. “We’ve got to go home, chat and see where we lacked and then come back. We couldn’t finish off close games… we weren’t good as a team.”
Pakistan, which failed to chase down a run-a-ball target against rival India and lost to the U.S. in a major upset, nearly messed up against a spirited Ireland bowling attack. At 52-2 after eight overs, it looked comfortable before Barry McCarthy (3-15) and Curtis Campher (2-24) sliced through the brittle middle-order and Pakistan slipped to 62-6 in 11 overs.
Abbas Afridi, playing his first game in the tournament, made 17 off 21 balls before he too holed out with 12 needed but Afridi ensured Pakistan didn’t lose.
Ireland finished last in its group with three defeats and its solitary point coming against the U.S. in a rain-abandoned game at the same venue. Pakistan finished third with four points behind qualifiers India and the United States.
“We played well in patches,” said Ireland skipper Paul Stirling, who couldn’t grab a difficult one-handed overhead catch of Afridi in the slips just before the left-hander hit the winning six. “They put pressure on us early on, but proud of the fight we’ve shown… it’s been a difficult couple of weeks, (we) go back, regroup and see if we can come back stronger.”
Afridi’s mesmerizing left-arm swing with the new white ball came a bit too late for Pakistan, which didn’t advance for the first time at the T20 World Cup. Pakistan won the tournament in 2009 and was runner-up in 2022.
Afridi hit the top of Andy Balbirnie’s off stump in his second ball that darted into the right-hander, and then two balls later found the outside edge of Lorcan Tucker’s bat.
Afridi was so pumped up that Pakistan wasted both its reviews — against Harry Tector and Campher – inside the first 14 balls of the match. However, Afridi was lucky to win an onfield leg-before-wicket decision against Tector which the replays suggested could have been reverted had the Irish batter reviewed it.
Fast bowler Mohammad Amir (2-11) had Ireland on the mat at 28-5 inside the batting power play before Gareth Delany countercharged briefly by smacking three sixes in his breezy knock of 31 off 19 balls.
But Pakistan kept on coming hard at Ireland through Wasim’s spin. He had Delany caught at point off a leading edge in the 12th over before No. 10 batter Josh Little resisted with an unbeaten 22 off 18 balls that gave Ireland some hope on a testing wicket.
Pakistan batters’ long struggle in the tournament continued when opener Saim Ayub (17) was brilliantly caught behind by Tucker after attempting a reckless shot against Mark Adair in the fifth over. Adair then pulled off a stunning catch on the edge of the boundary to end Mohammad Rizwan’s run-a-ball knock of 17.
Campher and McCarthy ignited a middle-order collapse with Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan and Wasim all going for extravagant shots before Pakistan managed to squeeze out a win.
Nepal to bowl first against Bangladesh
At Kingstown, Saint Vincent, Nepal won the coin toss and chose to bowl first in its final Group D match against Bangladesh which will help decide the final team team to make the Super Eight.
For Bangladesh, the equation is relatively simple. If it wins it will go through, joining South Africa who are unbeaten and atop the group.
If Bangladesh loses, it becomes more complicated. Its fate will then hang on the last match in Group C later Sunday between the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. The Netherlands would have to win by a sufficient margin to lift its net run-rate above Bangladesh.
Nepal lost by one run on the last ball of its previous match in St. Vincent against South Africa which cost it a chance of reaching the Super Eight stage. Its spinners played a major role in that match, with Dipendra Singh Airee and Kushal Bhurtel sharing the seven South Africa wickets that fell.
Bangladesh has named an unchanged lineup while Nepal made one change, naming Sundeep Jora in place of Karan KC.
“It was disappointing for us. (But) as proferssional cricketers you need to come back from that,” Nepal captain Rohit Paudel said of the loss to South Africa on Friday.
Bangladesh named an unchanged lineup from its 25-run victory against the Netherlands.
Netherlands wins toss
At Gros Islet, St Lucia, the Netherlands won the toss and chose to bowl against Sri Lanka in the final match in Group D.
As the match progresses, the Netherlands will keep a close eye on the match between Bangladesh and Nepal as it strives for a place in the Super Eight stage.
If Bangladesh wins, it will take the final Super Eight spot. But if Bangladesh loses, the Netherlands can qualify if its beats Sri Lanka by a sufficient margin to lift its net run-rate above Bangladesh.
By bowling first, Netherlands captain Scott Edwards has given his team the chance to manage its chase if run-rate becomes an issue.
“Obviously run-rate could come into in the second innings, but first and foremost we have to win the game,” Edwards said.
The Netherlands has never beaten Sri Lanka in a T20 international but Sri Lanka currently is last in the group without a win.
Both teams named unchanged lineups.
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