Ireland vs UAE - ODI Series Review

Planned to be a preparatory series, been a short, terrible and tiring series, with only two One Day Games played out of four, with the remaining two getting cancelled due to reports of few COVID-19 Positive cases in the camp of United Arab Emirates Cricket team. In these two games, one had a result which should be written in history whereas the other ended on an usual note. As the series is drawn, the trophy is shared among two nations. Now, we are going to explore the happenings of the last One Day game between these two teams.

On 8th of January, at Abu Dhabi, the first One Day International between Ireland and United Arab Emirates were played. Ireland had won the toss and elected to bat first. Ireland managed to score 269/5 at the end of fifty overs, with the experienced Paul Stirling, brought up his 10th International Century. He scored an unbeaten 131 off 148 balls, with 9 fours and 4 sixes present in it. Right from the first ball, to the last ball, he stood like a rock against a pacy pitch, played with much perfection. Along with him, Captain Andrew Balbirne scored a crucial fifty in the middle, whereas Gerath Delany struck few runs at the end to set up a decent total. Middle order failure, mattered most in this game for Ireland. United Arab Emirates came into bat, with losing 3 wickets for just 51 runs. Curtis Campher and Barry McCarthy were fine with the ball, picking 2 wickets each. At 13th over, Chundangapoyil Rizwan and experienced Muhammad Usman joined hands to save their team and ensure a win. Both batted for more than 30 overs, with both scoring centuries with the former scoring 109(136) while the later have scored 102 runs off 107 balls. Inexperienced Rizwan supported much and played a calm knock to retrieve the match. When Rizwan got out, there were 35 runs still needed off 26 balls. But, finally Waheem's important cameo, ensured their win with an over to spare. This win, will definitely be marked in history.

The next two One Day Games were cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the camp of UAE Cricket team. The final One Day game was in question which got green signal finally and played today at Abu Dhabi. United Arab Emirates had won the toss and decided to bowl first. Ireland's top order failed miserably with a tough score of 10/3 art the end of 5 overs. Last game's top scorer, Paul Stirling was the first one to get dismissed. To steady the sinking ship, Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker, played with much patience and stitched a good partnership. When the things got set for acceleration, both got out, leaving the job of securing in the hands of Curtis Campher and Simi Singh. Both have already shown perseverance during the One Day Series against England, which was held last June. So, again they were teamed up and played a fighting innings to ensure their team reach a safer position. Both scored half centuries and Ireland scored 228/6 at the end of 50 overs. 

Top order batsmen of United Arab Emirates began well with an aggressive start. But, after both the openers, Chundangapoyil Rizwan and Vriitya Aravind getting dismissed, Irish spinner Simi Singh, began to drag one by one out of the game, with bowling too slow in the air. He didn't had much spin, only his speed had variation. Also, on the other end, United Arab Emirates' shot selection were horrible. They weren't having much patience to tackle the situation, in a way it should be dealt with. Ireland won the game by 112 runs. So, UAE got all out for 116 runs. 

Now, Ireland is set to face Afghanistan at United Arab Emirates for a three match One Day Series, in which all the games are scheduled to be held at Abu Dhabi, and also these three games will surely come under ICC ODI Super League Points Table. Ireland have already opened their account, whereas Afghanistan is set to play their first International Series post Lock Down. These matches will be held at 21st, 24th and 26th of this month.