< >

Who would have predicted that: Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien restrict Pakistan to a tie despite Hafeez ton

Ireland's Paul Stirling

©Reuters

In our feature series - Who would have predicted that? – we are looking back at matches where there were big upsets or extraordinary individual performances that turned matches on their head.

Pakistan were on the tour of Scotland and Ireland in 2013. After they won their first match against Scotland and the second one was abandoned due to rain, they arrived in Ireland for a two-match affair.

Match Summary

Pakistan 266/5 (47 overs) - Mohammad Hafeez* 122 (113), Asad Shafiq 84 (89); Alex Cusack 2/50 (8), Kevin O'Brien 2/43 (5)

Ireland 275/5 (47 overs) - Paul Stirling 103 (107), Kevin O'Brien* 84 (47); Mohammad Hafeez 2/34 (9), Junaid Khan 2/54 (9)

Result - Match tied (D/L method)

Batting first, Pakistan lost their openers cheaply but Mohammad Hafeez and Asad Shafiq took them to 221. The partnership was finally broken in the 43rd over but Hafeez remained unbeaten on 122 off 113 deliveries with 12 fours and 2 sixes, batting at a strike rate of 107.96. Shafiq was dismissed on 84.

With several stoppages in play due to rain, the Pakistan innings was cut short at 266/5 from 47 overs. The target for Ireland as per the DLS method was adjusted to 276.

Fall of wickets: 1-33 (Imran Farhat, 12.3 ov), 2-221 (Asad Shafiq, 42.3 ov), 3-231 (Nasir Jamshed, 44.3 ov), 4-231 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 44.4 ov), 5-261 (Kamran Akmal, 46.4 ov)

@cricketicc Cricket Ireland are looking for 20,000 followers ahead of the series showdown v Pakistan tmrow #coybig RT pic.twitter.com/URoZqMRFZl
— Cricket Ireland (@Irelandcricket) May 25, 2013

Contrary to expectations, Ireland kept themselves in the match throughout the innings. Opener Paul Stirling was a rock for them and was finally dismissed in the 36th over, but not before he scored a brilliant century.

Kevin O'Brien, who had earlier picked up two wickets from his 5 overs, remained unbeaten with a whirlwind 84-run knock off just 47 deliveries. He struck 11 fours and 2 sixes.

With 15 required off the last over, O'Brien hit spinner Saeed Ajmal for a six on the fourth delivery and swept a full toss down the leg side to fine leg for a four on the last delivery to tie the match. For his all-round effort and sensational finish, Kevin O'Brien was awarded the Man of the Match.

Fall of wickets: 1-62 (William Porterfield, 12.5 ov), 2-158 (Ed Joyce, 32.5 ov), 3-171 (Paul Stirling, 35.2 ov), 4-230 (Gary Wilson, 41.4 ov), 5-240 (Niall O'Brien, 43.1 ov)

Teams

Ireland - William Porterfield (c), Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Niall O Brien, Kevin O Brien, Gary Wilson (wk), Alex Cusack, Andrew White, Trent Johnston, George Dockrell, Tim Murtagh

Pakistan - Imran Farhat, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Ehsan Adil, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan