Cricket World Cup 2015: Ireland beat UAE in crunch affair to secure second important win

Ireland have beaten United Arab Emirates (UAE) by two wickets in one of the most intriguing games of the tournament thus far.

The European side were down to eight wickets with less than three overs to spare and a shade over 10 runs to chase. However, tailenders Alex Cusack and George Dockrell showed impressive mental strength to take the game down to the final over and secure a hard fought victory for the Irishmen. They earned the victory will four balls to spare, thus securing their second win of the tournament.

Gary Wilson and Kevin O'Brien were the pick of the batsmen for Ireland, scoring 80 and 50 respectively coming lower down in the order as their top order collapsed to some brilliant bowling by the Asian side. Amjad Javed was the pick of the bowlers for UAE, taking three wickets at a run a ball.

Meanwhile, in the first innings, UAE, having been put to bat by Ireland were six down for only 131 runs, but a brilliant knock from Shaiman Anwar (106) saw them put up a total of 278 runs on the board. Paul Stirling was the best bowler for Ireland, taking two wickets at an economy of less than three.