Porterfield, Balbirnie star in Ireland’s crushing win

DUBAI: William Porterfield (139) and Andrew Balbirnie (102) essayed fine hundreds to help Ireland win their second game in a row versus UAE in the tri-series game played in Dubai, on Saturday (January 13). UAE could only muster 234 while chasing 302.

Ireland, who opted to bat, lost the aggressive Paul Stirling early (20). However, Porterfield and Balbirnie compiled a stand of 201 for the second wicket to put the visitors in pole position. Porterfield hit 15 fours and two sixes, while Balbirnie cracked 12 boundaries and one six. For UAE, Rohan Mustafa took two wickets. While chasing down a sizeable total, UAE needed a good start but they lost wickets at regular intervals to find themselves in trouble at 165 for 5 in the 35th over. Rameez Shehzad (50) and Muhammad Usman (44) made useful contributions but couldn’t convert it into bigger scores.

Mohammad Naveed (25) added useful runs down the order but by then the outcome of the match was more or less a foregone conclusion. Kevin O’Brien bagged a four-fer while Barry McCarthy and Andy McBrine took two scalps each for Ireland.

The third match of the tri-series will be played between Ireland and Scotland at the ICC Academy, Dubai, on Wednesda (January 16).

Brief scores: Ireland 301/5 in 50 overs (William Porterfield 139, Andrew Balbirnie 102; Rohan Mustafa 2-65) beat UAE 234 in 48.1 overs (Rameez Shahzad 50; Kevin O’Brien 4-41) by 67 runs.