Pakistan will play Ireland in the second T20I of the three-match series at the Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin, on Sunday in a must-win match as a loss tomorrow would make them lose the series.
Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir didn't participate in the first T20I, which Babar Azam and Co. lost by five wickets, as he couldn’t travel with the team on time due to visa issues.
However, as per latest reports, the left-arm pacer has reached Ireland and will be available for tomorrow’s encounter.
Ireland defeated Pakistan in T20Is on Friday as both teams only locked horns once in the shorter format before in the 2009 T20 World Cup where the Green Shirts emerged victorious.
Remember, Amir was issued visa for Ireland on Thursday and left for Dublin during the wee hours of Friday.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi took immediate action to ensure that Amir got clearance to travel to Ireland.
The PCB actively engaged with Cricket Ireland regarding Amir's visa situation. All players, including Amir, had their visa applications processed immediately after the Kakul camp, but anxiety had gripped the PCB headquarters after the pacer didn't get his visa.
It must be noted that despite a brilliant start while defending the 183-run target as Pakistan managed to get two wickets in the first five overs with Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi striking for them, the Babar Azam-led unit couldn’t stand against Andrew Balbirnie and Harry Tector.
Pakistan got a major breakthrough when Shaheen removed Balbirnie but Gareth Delany (10 on 6) and Curtis Campher (15 on 7) cruised the home side to victory.
Batting first, Pakistan posted 182/6 as skipper Babar Azam starred with 57 off 43 balls while Saim Ayub made 29-ball 45. Iftikhar Ahmed chipped in with 15-ball 37*.
The Men in Green lost Mohammad Rizwan (1) early in the innings. Babar paired with Saim to provide stability to the innings with an 85-run stand.
Pakistan struggled for a bit where they lost four wickets for 31 runs but Iftikhar covered the runs at the backend.
He smoked 15-ball 37, powered by three fours and as many sixes. Shaheen Shah Afridi also remained unbeaten, scoring 13 runs from 7 deliveries, hitting two sixes, with a strike rate of 185.71.
- Mohammad Amir
