CRICKET/TWENTY20 WORLD CUP:THERE WAS to be no reprise of the heroics of Sabina Park in London yesterday as Pakistan booked their place in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 with a 39-run victory over Ireland.
It brought down the curtain on a memorable campaign for Phil Simmons’s charges, who showed that they are quick learners in a format of the game they may well target for success.
Yet again a couple of standout performances took the game away from Ireland, with Kamran Akmal’s innings of 57 at the top of the Pakistani order helping them post 159 for five.
As a teenager, the right-hander spent two years playing with Limavady as an overseas professional, a time in which he was known for his explosive batting.
Yesterday, he left the early fireworks to opening partner Shahzaib Hasan, before he lifted Trent Johnston for the game’s first six in the fourth over.
Johnston’s first two overs would go for 29, but at the other end Boyd Rankin was bowling a brilliant opening spell as the hard Oval track helped him reach speeds of 85mph-plus as he consonantly troubled the opposition.
The 6ft 8in Warwickshire player bowled his first three overs for just seven runs, doubtless helping Alex Cusack make the breakthrough in the sixth over when Hasan holed out to Kyle McCallan for 23.
Ireland would concede just 38 in the powerplay overs, but Pakistan opened their shoulders to take 35 off the next three, with former Ireland overseas pro Shahid Afridi starting to move through the gears with 24 off 12 balls.
Kyle McCallan halted him in his tracks with just his third delivery as Afridi mistimed a slower ball to hole out to John Mooney at long-on. Regan West claimed the prize scalp of Younis Khan, while Johnston would eventually end Akmal’s stay at the crease, when he found a way through his defences in the 17th over.
Rankin helped keep Pakistan in check late on by giving away just four off the penultimate over as he conceded just 11 from 24 deliveries, including 13 dot balls, to equal the most economical figures of the competition.
The loss of Niall O’Brien in the third over was a huge blow for Ireland’s hopes as the hero of Sabina Park was caught and bowled by Mohammed Aamer for seven.
In his first game in the tournament, 18-year-old Paul Stirling showed no nerves in front of the 20,000-plus crowd as he cracked his opening delivery through the covers for four.
He fell to Afridi’s leg-spin after a run-a-ball 17, before Kevin O’Brien and William Porterfield gave Ireland renewed hope with a partnership of 45 for the third wicket. But the skipper went for 40, and with it went the last chance of success.
Spinner Saeed Ajmal (four for 19) and Umar Gull (two for 19) ran through the batting line-up as Ireland lost seven wickets for 24 runs as their innings closed on 120 with the last pair at the crease.
Simmons yet again highlighted the failure to hit out in the middle of the innings as one of the keys to the defeat, but overall was delighted with how his side have developed in the tournament.
“We didn’t bat well enough in the middle, that’s been the problem. The improvement has been massive between the start of the camp and the end of the tournament, so that’s all we asked for.
“We did not have much experience in this format and now we can go back and take things we’ve learned here and work on it.”
PAKISTAN INNINGS
K Akmal b Johnston 57
S Hasan c McCallan b Cusack 23
S Afridi c Mooney b McCallan 24
Y Khan b West 10
Misbah-ul-Haq c N O'Brien b McCallan 20
A Razzaq not out 15
S Malik not out 4
Extras: (lb-3, w-2, nb-1) 6
Total: (five wickets; 20 overs)159
Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-78, 3-102, 4-133, 5-141.
Did not bat: Fawad Alam, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamer.
Bowling: B Rankin 4-0-11-0, T Johnston 4-0-45-1 (1-nb, 1-w), A Cusack 4-0-41-1, R West 4-0-33-1 (1-w), K McCallan 4-0-26-2.
IRELAND INNINGS
W Porterfield c Y Khan b Ajmal 40
N O'Brien c b Aamer 7
P Stirling b Shahid Afridi 17
K O'Brien st K Akmal b Ajmal 26
J Mooney c A Razzaq b Ajmal 2
D Johnston b U Gul 0
A White b U Gul 5
A Cusack st K Akmal b Ajmal 2
W McCallan not out 2
R West run out 1
W Rankin not out 5
Extras: (b1 lb7 w3 nb2) 13
Total: (9 wkts, 20 overs)120
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-42, 3-87, 4-93, 5-99, 6-108, 7-110, 8-110, 9-111.
Bowling: Aamer 4-0-19-1, Abdul Razzaq 3-0-18-0, Shahid Afridi 4-0-26-1, Ajmal 4-0-19-4, Shoaib Malik 1-0-11-0, Umar Gul 4-0-19-2.
Pakistan beat Ireland by 39 runs.
