Captain William Porterfield and Andrew Balbirnie hit centuries as Ireland beat the United Arab Emirates by 67 runs in the 2nd ODI of the Tri-series in Dubai.
Porterfield’s 139 and Balbirnie’s 102 helped Ireland post an imposing total of 301/5 in their 50 overs. The duo put on a 201 runs partnership for the 2nd wicket following the earl dismissal of Paul Strirling in their innings.
Rohan Mustafa (2/65) was the pick of the bowlers for UAE. However, there was not much penetration done by any of the other bowlers as Ireland lost few wickets towards the end of their innings in order to get more runs.
Kevin O’Brien (4/41) took four wickets as the hosts were always struggling to keep pace with the Ireland target. Rameez Shahzad (50) and Mohammed Usman (44) put on a 68-run partnership to raise hopes for UAE but once Rameez departed, the momentum was lost in the chase.
Barry McCarthy took 2/49 and off-spinner Andy McBrine returned back in Irish colours with good figures of 2/40. Mohammad Naveed (25) provided some late blows for UAE, which took them to 234 before getting bowled out in 48.4 overs to lose the match by 67 runs.
Ireland now play Scotland next in 2 matches on 16th & 18th Jan, 2018.
