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DUBLIN: Jane Maguire hit a last-ball six to secure a series-clinching win for Ireland women against Pakistan women in the second T20I here at the Clontarf Cricket Club Ground on Friday.
With this, Ireland women won the three-match series against Pakistan women, with one match to be played between them.
The third Pakistan-Ireland T20I will be played on Sunday, August 10, at the same venue.
Set to chase a challenging 169-run target, the Ireland women’s team hit the winning runs on the last ball of the match.
The home started poorly in the big chase, losing their three wickets inside the power play on the score of 35 runs.
Amy Hunter (6) was run out, while Rameen Shamim removed skipper Gaby Lewis (21) and Leah Paul for a golden duck.
However, Orla Prendergast and Laura Delany forged a crucial 76 runs on the fourth wicket to steer Ireland in the chase. As a result, the home side reached 111 in 15.1 overs.
Prendergast was eventually removed after scoring 51 off 34 deliveries, laced with four boundaries and two maximums.
Delany, on the other hand, continued till the 19th over and crafted another 49-run partnership with Rebecca Stokell to bring the score to 160 in the 19th over.
The duo ensured that Ireland reached within sight of the target. However, the match entered an interesting phase with Ireland requiring nine off six balls.
Delany’s gusty knock of 42 from 34 balls ended as she was caught by Tuba Hassan off Fatima Sana’s bowling.
Sadia Iqbal, the number one-ranked T20I bowler, started well with a single and a dot, followed by two doubles to bring down the equation to four from two balls.
She also managed to remove well Ava Canning (4), with Ireland requiring four of the last ball to seal a memorable win for the home side.
Meanwhile, Jane Maguire had other plans who struck six on the last ball to take his team home in a tense run chase.
Earlier, after opting to bat first, Pakistan scored 168-6 in their allotted 20 overs.
The Green Shirts’ opening pair of Muneeba Ali and Shawaal Zulfiqar provided the visitors a strong start, scoring 62 runs in just eight overs before they perished on successive deliveries.
Shawaal top-scored for Pakistan, accumulating 33 runs off 27 balls, which included six boundaries.
Muneeba provided solid support with a quickfire 27 runs off 22 balls, featuring three fours and one six.
Following the loss of the openers, Natalia and Eyman Fatima formed an essential partnership, adding 43 runs for the third wicket before Natalia was dismissed by Lara McBride in the 13th over.
Fatima scored 23 runs off 16 balls, including two fours and one six.
Natalia then teamed up with captain Fatima Sana to contribute an additional 30 runs for the fourth wicket, which helped strengthen Pakistan’s total.
However, the partnership was broken when Cara Murray dismissed Natalia, who had scored 31 runs off just 17 balls with four boundaries.
Captain Fatima soon followed, getting out to Orla Prendergast after making 23 runs off 16 balls, which included one four and one six.
At number seven, Tuba Hassan added an unbeaten 10 runs toward the end, ensuring Pakistan surpassed the 160-run milestone.
For Ireland, Lara McBride and Cara Murray each claimed two wickets, while Orla Prendergast chipped in with one.
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