Malahide (Dublin) May 16 - Ireland started their Test journey with a five-wicket loss to Pakistan, who rode on sedate knocks from debutant Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam to eventually romp home without much hiccups on the final day of the historic Test here on Tuesday.
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\r\nChasing 160, Imam (74 not out) and Azam (59) forged a crucial partnership to guide Pakistan to a comfortable victory after the visitors had slipped to 14\/3.
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\r\nIreland had added just 20 to their overnight 319\/7, with centurion Kevin O'Brien failing to add anything to the magnificent 118 he compiled on the fourth day.
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\r\nKevin fell to the first ball he faced on the fifth morning, caught at slip off Mohammad Abbas while going for a booming drive.
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\r\nWith Pakistan requiring 160 to win, Ireland sensed the possibility of a sensational victory, quickly reducing their opponents to 14\/3.
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\r\nTim Murtagh made the new ball talk to have Azhar Ali caught at slip and then clean bowled Asad Shafiq, while Boyd Rankin had Haris Sohail caught in the gully.
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\r\nFor all that early excitement though, Pakistan gradually took the game away from Ireland, thanks in no small part to 22-year-old Imam, who batted with patience and a sound technique to end on a well-made 74 not out.
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\r\nHis 126-run partnership with Azam was the defining one of the day.
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\r\nThough Babar was run out thanks to a mix-up with Imam, with the score on 142, and skipper Sarfraz Ahmed followed soon after for 8, it was too little too late for Ireland, and Shadab Khan ended on 8 not out to help Pakistan over the line.
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\r\nIn the first innings Pakistan made 310\/9 with Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan and Asad Shafiq scoring handsomely. After that the bowlers did a fantastic job to restrict the hosts to 130. Mohammad Abbas took four wickets while Shadab Khan scalped three wickets.
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\r\nBrief Scores: Pakistan 310 & 160\/5 (Imam-ul-Haq 74 not out, Babar Azam 59; Tim Murtagh 2\/45) beat Ireland 130 & 339 (Kevin O'Brien 118, Stuart Thompson 53; Mohammad Abbas 5\/66) by 5 wickets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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