Ireland tri-series: Stokell's brilliance hands Pakistan their second defeat in two games
Pakistan women could not turn their fortunes around after losing their opening tri-series game against West Indies, as Ireland got the better of them.
Pakistan script their third-highest away total
Choosing to bat first, Pakistan batters struck up a decent 44-run opening partnership off just 29 balls. The quick runs helped Pakistan absorb the shock without damaging their chances as they lost two quick wickets with Gull Feroza and Ayesha Zafar going back with a difference of roughly an over.
Muneeba then joined forces with young batter Saira Jabeen, stitching up an 88-run partnership off 55 balls, cranking the scoring rate up to more than nine runs per over.
After both set batters departed one after another, captain Fatima Sana eyed making the most of however many balls were left. But she could only hit two fours before Amy Hunter caught her behind the wickets. The team, though, would have been happy with the 176-run target they set, which is their third highest in an away T20I game.
Ireland stumbled but straightened back in time
The chase wasn't exactly a walk in the park for Ireland. They lost their first batter Alana Dalzell within the powerplay but the way the incoming batter Rebecca Stokell played, Pakistan bowlers would think they made a mistake.
Stokell began slow and played a catch-up innings, which when paired with Orla Prendergast's 33 off just 17 balls turned the game on its head. Pakistan bowlers had done a good job in halting the run flow, leaving the side 41 runs short in the last four overs.
But Sadia Iqbal's third over, where she gave 18 runs, and that the home team still had eight wickets in hand, brought Ireland back on the front foot. There was no stopping them after that. Orla and Rebecca produced another 15-run over off Diana Baig, leaving only 23 to be scored in the last two.
Despite Ayesha Zafar getting Orla in the penultimate over, the chase was virtually completed. Stokell took a single in the final over and that helped Ireland easily get past Pakistan.
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