Ireland is proving to be a tough competitor in the World Cup winning every match. Against UAE on Wednesday, Ireland won a neck-to-neck match and made their place even stronger for the next round. But credits to UAE which held their nerve and gave Ireland a hard time in the field. The Guld nation also committed many mistakes like dropping the catches which proved too costly in the end.

Ireland captain Porterfield won the toss and put UAE to bat first. It was a good start by UAE but all of sudden they lost four wickets in quick succession. Khurram Khan, Shaiman Anwar and Amjad Javed who helped UAE to post a good total. Anwar scored a century and became the first UAE batsman to hit a hundred in World Cup. In the end it was 278 runs on the board for UAE.

Chasing the total, Ireland did not have a impressive start. Opener Stirling was dismissed cheaply but another opener Porterfield and Joyce batted effectively. Together they put a half century stand but then could carry on further. Three wickets in no time, made Ireland fall in defence and they slowly pushed the score board. Until 35th over Ireland seems to be heading towards a loss, then came the pinch hitter Kevin O'Brien, along with Wilson used the batting powerplay and brought the game back. In the end, Ireland used its chances and chased the total successfully with four balls to spare.

- TVR