Ireland 271/9
Scotland 246 (47.4 overs)
Ireland won by 25 runs
IRELAND KEPT THEIR slender hopes of World Cup qualification alive as they ground out a 25-run win over an unbeaten Scotland in Harare on Sunday morning.
Graham Ford’s side lost star man Paul Stirling when he was caught and bowled by Brad Wheal in the very first over.
But Player of the Match Andrew Balbirnie scored a magnificent century with 105 off 146 balls, with brothers Niall and Kevin O’Brien adding 70 and 46 respectively, to set the Scots a tough target of 272.
Scotland launched a valiant chase but Boyd Rankin (4-63) did enough to stall their challenge, taking the wickets of captain Kyle Coetzer, George Munsey and Craig Wallace in quick succession en route to a 25-run win.
“After the batting performance on Saturday we wanted to put in a solid performance on a pitch that was playing a bit slow,” Balbirnie said afterwards.
“I just wanted to start well and stay in. I haven’t had a great run so far – I’ve had a couple of dismissals that weren’t like me, but today I had a bit of a rub of the green – St Patrick’s weekend and all that. I just managed to kick on and it was great to get a total on the board for the team.”
Friday’s disappointing defeat against hosts Zimbabwe left Ireland’s qualification hopes out of their own hands and hanging by a thread.
With only two places at the 2019 tournament up for grabs, Graham Ford’s side must now beat Afghanistan in their final Super Six game next Friday, 23 March, and hope that results elsewhere go their way.
“There’s a lot of cricket to be played this week before our game against Afghanistan – we’re going to relax, take a few days off and then take on the Afghans,” Balbirnie added.
“We know them pretty well, there’s going to be a lot of results this week, and who knows what is going to be played for on Friday.”
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