Ireland women celebrate after beating Pakistan in T20I series
The players of the Ireland women’s cricket team had all the reasons to celebrate after they outclassed Pakistan 2-1 in the just-concluded T20I series in their own backyard. The Irish team successfully defended 167 and came out on top by 34 runs in the series-decider at Lahore on Wednesday, November 16.
After their memorable T20I series victory, the Irish players celebrated the occasion by singing merrily in the team bus holding the winner’s trophy. In fact, the Irish girls were singing the famous 80s chartbuster ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’.
Watch the video here:
Ireland outclass Pakistan in the T20I series decider
Coming back to this bilateral series, Pakistan looked strong on paper and made a solid statement after registering an undisputed 3-0 victory in the One Day International series and looked to replicate similar performances in the T20Is that followed.
However, that was not to be as they were stunned by the Irish team in the opening fixture by six wickets in the penultimate over. The hosts staged a strong comeback in the next game with a hard-fought six wicket victory to set up a series decider.
In the third and final T20I, the coin landed in favour of the visiting captain Laura Delany and she elected to bat first. It was a good decision as Amy Hunter (40) and Gaby Lewis (71) laid a strong foundation with a 110-run opening stand.
Both batters were dismissed in quick succession, but a vital knock of a 23-ball 37 by Orla Prendergast helped Ireland post a competitive total of 167/4 on the board.
Pakistan looked in control at one stage when Javeria Khan was batting brilliantly. Nonetheless, once she was dismissed for a valiant 50 runs off 37 deliveries, only Nida Dar contributed with an important 26 as the hosts suffered a batting collapse to be bundled out for 133 in the penultimate over.
Gaby Lewis was adjudged the Player of the Match for her match-winning knock of a 46-ball 71. She also bagged the Player of the Series award for scoring 144 runs.
