IRE VS UAE ODI

Right then! The group stages have come to an end and the two teams in this tie will be heading back home as they take the bottom two spots in Group B. We have six teams that have progressed to the next stage and the action in ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier continues after a day's break on Thursday 29th June for match 1 of the Super Sixes. Group A table-toppers Zimbabwe lock horns against Oman who stood third in Group B at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo and the first ball will be bowled at 12.30 pm IST (7 am GMT) but as you know, our coverage will begin well in advance. Do join us for it and until then, goodbye and cheers!

Andy Balbirnie, the skipper of Ireland says that the side is delighted with a victory but they did not want to be in this state and this is the least they could do here. Adds that they wanted to go back with their heads held high with a convincing victory here and the team managed to do that. Claims that this was probably the hardest week ever since he got the job as the skipper and they would want to bounce back with a bang in the future. Mentions that the inning of Paul Stirling was the game changer for the side as everyone counts on his experience and he showed up big time today.

Vriitya Aravind, the vice-captain of the United Arab Emirates is up for a chat. He says that Muhammad Waseem's hand looks really bad and he has gone for a scan but hopefully, he will be back for their next game. Gives credit to the Irish batters who batted really well and claims that they lacked in quality against them. Mentions that Sanchit Sharma was really good for them in today's game and it is one of the positives they can take from the match. Ends by saying that the team they have got is a young one and they will like to grow better together.

Paul Stirling is the Player of the Match for his remarkable knock of 162 runs which included 15 fours and 8 maximums! He says that it was nice to get in on the act and get some runs under the belt. Adds that it feels so good to finally get a feel with the bat and score runs. Claims that it feels nice to get going in a positive direction and the victory tastes a lot better to the squad. Mentions that his partnership with Andy Balbirnie was really crucial for the side as they kept the scoring rate good and managed to see off the initial stages when the ball assisted the seamers.

Time for the presentations...

The Irish openers looked to be preparing for a long day's work as they started watchfully but lost Andy McBrine after a decent start. Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie added 184 runs in 178 deliveries for the second wicket and took the game out of the hands of their opponents. The skipper was dismissed on 66 as he looked to up the ante but Paul Stirling continued along his merry way notching up his 14th ODI century and was finally dismissed on 162 in 134 deliveries. Harry Tector played an attacking cameo and reached his half-century scoring 57 runs in 33 balls. Lorcan Tucker and George Dockrell provided the late onslaught as they fell short of the 350-run mark by one run. Sanchit Sharma was the pick of the bowlers by far for the Asian side as he claimed three wickets for 46 runs in his 7 overs and Ali Naseer chipped in with one.

Then came a minor fightback from the lower-order batters as Sanchit Sharma joined Basil Hameed in the middle and the two of them added 70 runs in 86 deliveries for the seventh wicket giving their fans something to cheer about. Hameed was dismissed on 39 and Sanchit missed out on his maiden half-century by six runs. There were some lusty blows from the tail but the Irish bowlers did a good job to wrap up the proceedings in 39 overs with United Arab Emirates scoring 211. It was a complete bowling performance by Ireland as Joshua Little, Andy McBrine, George Dockrell, and Curtis Campher all claimed two wickets each with Barry McCarthy chipping in with one and was the most economical of the lot. They backed up a good performance by their batters in the first inning.

UAE needed their skipper to click if they had any hopes of achieving a massive target and Muhammad Waseem showed intent straightaway. He scored 45 runs in 31 deliveries and was involved in a 58-run opening partnership with Aryansh Sharma. He was however dismissed in a school-boy fashion as he decided not to get back into the crease after being hit on the hand. His counterpart, Andy Balbirnie did not miss the opportunity to get the dangerous batter run out and UAE never seemed to recover from that blow. Aryansh and Vriitya Aravind got off to decent starts but could not capitalize and Ethan D'souza could not make the most of his first opportunity in this competition. With the wickets of Ali Naseer and Aayan Khan, UAE found themselves six down with 109 runs on the board and 241 runs still to get.

A thumping win for Ireland as they register the first win of the tournament and will now head back with some consolation! They have demolished a hapless United Arab Emirates side by 138 runs and the minnows will also be departing the competition but have no wins under their belt. This was a dead rubber but the manner in which the game panned out showed the massive gulf in quality between the two teams and the Asian side has a long way to go before they start challenging the big guns. Ireland have have been disappointing too barring this match and will be one of the Test-playing nations to not participate in the ICC Cricket World Cup later this year.

OUT! That's a wrap as Ireland put the final nail in the coffin. Tossed up much slower through the air and wide of off, Karthik Meiyappan moves to his leg and chips it in the air towards the fence at sweeper cover. Mark Adair was well stationed at the fence and made no mistake as he collects this nice and clean diving low in front of him. That's an end to the group stages as Ireland have defeated UAE by 138 runs.

Tossed up in middle, Muhammad Jawadullah pushes this to long on and takes a single.

SIX! Fractionally over-pitched outside the off and much slower, Muhammad Jawadullah slogs this well over the fence at long off for a maximum.

FOUR! Impressive cut shot for four. Length dragged back a bit on off, Muhammad Jawadullah cuts this wide of the fielder at point for a boundary.

Tossed up on off, Karthik Meiyappan drives this to long ogg for a single.

Tossed up on off, Muhammad Jawadullah slices this to third man for a single.

On a length outside off, Muhammad Jawadullah cuts this to third man for a single.

Muhammad Jawadullah walks out last to bat.