Batsman Kevin O’Brien believes Ireland “can finish the job” against Pakistan on Sunday after the two teams played out an exciting tie on Thursday.
O’Brien hit a four off the final ball as Ireland finished on 275-5 at Clontarf to match Pakistan’s adjusted total under the Duckworth Lewis method.
Big-hitting O’Brien had mixed feelings after the match but the Dubliner feels the tie must give the Irish confidence.
“We definitely can beat them. We are playing great cricket,” said O’Brien.
“We have played great cricket all year so far and Thursday’s game will give us a lot of confidence going into Sunday.
Pakistan are obviously a great side and you have to give them the respect they deserve but if they ball bounces another way on Sunday, we come away with a victory.”
O’Brien’s 84 not out in Thursday’s contest could help him land a contract in the newly established Caribbean Premier League, with him among 18 international players in the draft for the month-long tournament which starts on 29 July.
Cricket Ireland have confirmed they would free O’Brien to play in the tournament, even though it may clash with a proposed three-game one-day series against Bangladesh.
Talks are ongoing about the prospect of the Tigers touring for a second consecutive summer after they played a Twenty20 series in Belfast last year.
O’Brien’s quick-fire knock on Thursday complemented Paul Stirling’s superb 103 as the Newtownabbey youngster notched his second century in one-day games against Pakistan.
Stirling’s century came as he conclusively won his duel with the world’s top ranked one-day international bowler Saeed Ajmal.
All that came after captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s pre-match comments about his team having “plans” for Stirling following his previous century against Pakistan two years ago.
Stirling’s performance gave further credibility to Trent Johnston’s insistence that the Middlesex opener will develop into the best batsmen in Irish cricket history.
source:www.bbc.com
Tags: Cricket, Ireland, ODI, Pakistan
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