Gary Wilson and Kevin O’Brien struck brisk half-centuries as Ireland held their nerve to clinch a thrilling two-wicket victory in their World Cup Pool B match against United Arab Emirates in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Wilson hit 80 off 69 balls while all-rounder O’Brien smashed 50 off 25 to help Ireland overwhelm UAE’s total of 278-9 with four balls to spare for their second consecutive win of the tournament.
Needing almost 10 runs an over at one stage, Wilson and O’Brien smashed 72 in their sixth-wicket stand off just six overs to revive their chase.
O’Brien, who was dropped on 24, hit eight fours and lofted Amjad Javed (3-60) for two consecutive sixes but fell on the next ball with his team still needing 36 runs to win.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Wilson got Ireland, who beat West Indies in their first match, closer but was dismissed by Mohammad Naveed (2-65) after hitting the bowler for two successive boundaries ion the 48th over.
Ireland needed 12 at that stage and tailenders George Dockrell and Alex Cusack held firm to see them through.
Earlier, Shaiman Anwar registered UAE’s first World Cup century to help them overcome a poor start and post a strong total.
The 35-year-old right-hander scored 106 off 83 balls and dominated a breezy 107-run stand with Javed (42), a World Cup record for the seventh wicket, to lift UAE who were reeling at 78-4 in the 21st over.
Anwar became the second batsman to score a ODI hundred for the Emirati nation, who are making their second appearance at the event after also qualifying in 1996.
Anwar, who hit 10 fours and a six, raised his bat and went down on his knees after reaching the 100-run mark in 79 deliveries.
Ireland were guilty of bowling too short to Anwar, who had scored his previous highest of 67 in the last match against Zimbabwe, and Javed as UAE plundered 147 runs in the last 15 overs.
The duo came together with Ireland looking to bundle their opponents out having reduced them to 131 for six in the 35th over.
Anwar eventually fell in the 49th over, skying Max Sorensen for Wilson to complete a comfortable catch.
Off-spinner Paul Stirling (2-27) struck in his second over to dismiss Andri Berenger (13) and then picked up Krishna Chandran for a duck in his third to deny UAE a strong start after they were put in to bat first.
O’Brien came into the attack for Ireland and dismissed set opener Amjad Ali (45) and Swapnil Patil (two) in his first two overs to further stifle the UAE innings.
O’Brien, however, proved expensive in the final overs, eventually conceding 61 off seven overs.
Here are highlights from today’s World Cup Pool B match between Ireland and United Arab Emirates in Brisbane:
Ireland innings:
50th over – Alex Cusack steals a single on the first ball and then Dockrell beats cover with a lofted shot for two as Ireland win by two wickets. IRE: 279-8
49th over – George Dockrell lofts Javed over mid-off for a boundary as Ireland need just three off the last over. IRE: 276-8
48th over – Wilson (80) gets two consecutive fours off Naveed but falls on the third ball to a catch at third man. IRE: 269-8
47th over – Javed dismisses Mooney for two. IRE: 259-7
46th over – Wilson guides Naveed for a four to third man off the first ball and gets another four off the fifth, dancing down the track to loft it over covers. UAE: 256-6
45th over – First six for O’Brien as he smashes Javed’s first ball over long-on and follows it up with another on the third over long-off to bring up his 50 off 24 balls. Javed gets him out next ball as O’Brien hits straight to cover. IRE: 243-6
44th over – O’Brien hits Mustafa for four to wide long-off and Wilson finishes the over with a boundary to midwicket. IRE: 231-5
43rd over – O’Brien goes for a big hit, skies it and is dropped at long on by substitute Nasir Aziz as the ball trickles to the boundary. Another boundary to fine leg for O’Brien. IRE: 219-5
42nd over – O’Brien lofts Chandran over cover for a boundary and then guides a full toss to the fine leg for consecutive fours. IRE: 207-5
41st over – O’Brien gets two consecutive boundaries off Naveed. IRE: 194-5
40th over – Wilson gets a four, cutting Chandran through to the point boundary and then gets a two to get to his eighth fifty. Ireland need 95 off the last 10. IRE: 184-5
39th over – Naveed comes back into the attack and takes out Balbirnie (30), who fails to clear mid-off with his lofted shot. Dismissal ends a 74-run stand. Kevin O’Brien walks to the crease and hits a four off his second ball. IRE: 175-5
36th over – Wilson cuts Chandran for a four to the point boundary. IRE: 158-4
35th over – Wilson drives Rohan Mustafa to the cover boundary and they run four. IRE: 151-4
34th over – Another four for Wilson as he chops a short ball from Krishna Chandran past the wicketkeeper. IRE: 142-4
32nd over – Gary Wilson playes a powerful sweep off Tauqir for a boundary. IRE: 131-4
30th over – Pace bowler Guruge walks off clutching the back of his right thigh after running in from the boundary to field a ball. IRE: 120-4
28th over – Andy Balbirnie plays a reverse sweep for four off Tauqir. IRE: 110-4
26th over – Niall is out lbw to Tauqir. IRE: 98-4
24th over – Tauqir strikes as Porterfield is bowled while going for a wild slog. IRE: 94-3
22nd over – Niall O’Brien gets his first four with a lofted shot against Tauqir to long-off. IRE: 88-2
19th over – Javed has his revenge as Joyce’s luck runs out. His edge carries to the wicketkeeper. IRE: 72-2
18th over – Joyce survives again as Mohammad Tauqir drops him off his own bowling. IRE: 68-1
15th over – Joyce takes the aerial route to hit Javed for a four over mid-off to bring up the 50-run stand for the second wicket. Porterfield then drives crisply through the covers for another four. IRE: 60-1
14th over – Porterfield jumps down the track to Guruge and miscues a lofted shot but the ball lands safely out of the reach of the min-in fielder. 50 comes up for Ireland with a wide from Guruge. IRE: 50-1
11th over – First bowling change as Amjad Javed replaces Naveed. The right-arm pace bowler hits the outside half of the off-stump but Joyce survives as the bail leaps off its groove and then lands back in it. Joyce then drives him straight down the ground for a four. IRE: 40-1
10th over – Joyce plays an on-drive off Gurugue for three runs. IRE: 35-1
9th over – Porterfield now gets his first four, driving Naveed powerfully through the covers. Joyce plays a solid drive beating the cover fielder for three runs. IRE: 32-1
7th over – Ed Joyce gets the first boundary for Ireland as he pulls Naveed to the mid-wicket boundary. IRE: 21-1
2nd over – Manjula Guruge strikes the first blow for UAE as Paul Stirling (3) edges a widish delivery behind to the wicketkeeper. IRE: 6-1
1st over – Mohammad Naveed opens the attack for UAE, bowling to Ireland captain William Porterfield who guides it to third man for a single to get off the mark. IRE: 4-0
UAE innings:
50th over – Naveed gets another four but falls to Cusack who takes a high catch off his own bowling. UAE: 278-9
49th over – Anwar finally falls on 106 after skying Sorensen for the wicketkeeper to complete a simple catch. UAE: 270-8
48th over – Anwar hits O’Brien for two fours and then guides one to third man for three runs to get to his maiden ODI hundred. UAE gets 19 runs from the over. UAE: 265-7
47th over – Javed falls for his highest score of 42, pulling Sorensen to Joyce at square leg. The seventh wicket added 107 runs. Mohammad Naveed hits his first ball for a four. UAE: 246-7
46th over – Anwar and Javed bring up their 100-run stand. UAE: 238-6
44th over – Anwar hits a full toss from Cusack over mid-off for a boundary to get past his highest ODI score of 67 and follows it up with a pull over mid-wicket. UAE: 225-6
43rd over – Another big over for UAE as they take 14 runs off Sorensen. UAE: 214-6
42nd over – Anwar hits Dockrell for two boundaries to bring up his team’s 200. UAE: 200-6
41st over – Mooney comes back into the attack and UAE take 14 runs as Javed and Anwar pick up a boundary each. UAE: 192-6
40th over – Anwar gets his third ODI fifty with a pulled six off Dockrell as UAE get 47 runs in the five-over batting powerplay without losing a wicket. UAE: 178-6
39th over – O’Brien comes back into the attack and Anwar pulls him to midwicket for a four and then Javed gets two consecutive boundaries with some innovative batting. UAE take 16 runs from the over. UAE: 167-6
37th over – Amjad Javed hits Cusack for his first four and then drives him for three euns as UAE take 12 runs in the over. UAE: 149-6
36th over – Anwar pulls Dockrell for his second four on the last ball of the first over of batting powerplay. UAE: 137-6
35th over – Rohan Mustafa gets a thick edge to the wicketkeeper off Cusack as UAE lose their sixth wicket. UAE: 131-6
32nd over – Dockrell strikes as Khurram (36) is given out leg before. The batsman reviews the decision but can’t get it overturned. UAE: 125-5
31st over – Anwar gets his first four off Cusack. UAE: 122-4
30th over – Frontline left-arm spinner George Dockrell replaces Stirling as Ireland slow down UAE’s progress. UAE: 116-4
28th over – Stirling finishes his 10-over spell, bowling unchanged from one end with 2-27. UAE: 106-4
27th over – Anwar brings up the 100 for UAE with a single to cover off Sorensen. UAE: 100-4
23rd over – Shaiman Anwar gets off the mark with a backfoot drive off O’Brien for three runs. Khurram Khan then swivels to pull the bowler for a boundary. UAE: 88-4
21st over – O’Brien strikes again as Swapnil Patel edges him to Stirling at lone slip. UAE: 78-4
19th over – Kevin O’Brien comes into the attack and bowls a wayward delivery down the leg side. Amjad (45) guides it down to fine leg for a boundary but then pulls a short ball straight to square leg. UAE: 73-3
16th over – Khurram Khan gets his first four, driving Stirling through cover. UAE: 61-2
14th over – Striling strikes again to dismiss Krishna Chandran for a duck. The edge goes quickly to Kevin O’Brien at slip and the fielder takes the catch on second attempt. UAE: 54-2
13th over – Amjad pulls Cusack for his fourth boundary and also brings up the fifty for his team. UAE: 53-1
12th over – Stirling strikes the first blow for Ireland as Berenger (13) plays him straight to William Porterfield at mid-wicket. UAE: 49-1
10th over – First sign of spin as off-spinner Paul Stirling comes on to bowl the final over of mandatory powerplay. Tight over as UAE manage just a single. UAE: 44-0
8th over – Andri Berenger gets his first four by driving Sorensen wide of mid-off. Amjad then gets a thick edge while playing an expansive drive but the ball evades the diving first slip and goes for a boundary. UAE: 42-0
7th over – First bowling change for Ireland as Alex Cusack comes into the attack replacing Mooney. UAE: 31-0
4th over – Amjad gets his second four with an inside edge down to fine leg off Sorensen. UAE: 23-0
3rd over – Good over for UAE as they take eight runs off Mooney’s second over. UAE: 16-0
2nd over – Amjad Ali hits the first boundary for UAE, hitting Max Sorensen straight down the ground. UAE: 8-0
1st over – John Mooney starts the proceedings for Ireland with the ball. UAE: 3-0