9.52 pm Ireland were in the chase for the first 13 overs, advancing to 87 for 5. But the collapse was swift afterward once Richardson got out in the 14th over, losing their last five wickets for eight runs. The margin of victory is not really a fair reflection of how competitive Ireland were in the chase for the first two-thirds of the second innings. However, they made things infinitely harder on themselves with some consistently poor fielding. If they had taken their chances, including when Muneeba was on 45, they could have realistically held Pakistan to 130-140. Instead, Muneeba went on to become Pakistan's first Women's T20I centurion.
No prizes for guessing who the Player of the Match is. Muneeba Ali is accepting her award now after striking 102 off 68 balls (14 fours) in the win. "When I got a start, then I had a partnership with Nida bhajji and she was always telling me to keep going and score big. So from the 12th and 13th over, I felt I could make a hundred and she pushed me. I was playing with my feet and trying to understand where they are trying to bowl and make a plan where I can find a boundary. I want to dedicate my award to my captain and my teammates. We had a bad game yesterday and we fight a lot but everyone is happy today."
Ireland captain Laura Delany: "I think we underperformed today and will be disappointed with our performance. At the start, we gave them too much width, and we found it hard then to drag it back and take wickets. But we started off with the bat well and we had intent which is one thing we've tried to focus on, but overall we're slightly disappointed with how we performed today. It's such a nice group to captain. They're such a lovely group of players and they're learning game by game. I think Orla [Prendergast] is a prime example of that. Every time she steps out on the pitch, she just gets better and better and she's growing in confidence. Even Leah and Cara, two of our young spinners, who bowled incredibly well against England and today put up a really good fight, as long as we're learning and putting in a better performance each time, that's all we can ask. [On Muneeba] All I can say is well batted and she outplayed us."
Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof: "It was a very clinical performance in every department. I'm very proud of the way Muneeba batted. She has backed herself and showed what she can do and I hope she can continue her performance like that. I said you're a set batter, just go and bat deep. We have taken 10 wickets, so that's a pleasing thing. But I still think we can be better in the next game. We have taken the positives [from the India loss] but we have taken the little lapses from that loss, we have taken them and improved in the next match."
So Pakistan are now in third place in Group 2 on two points, two behind both England and India. But they've improved their net run rate dramatically moving it to +1.54. By comparison, India's is only at +0.59 despite having two wins from two matches. In order to bring that tiebreaker into play though, Pakistan realistically will have to win their final two matches against West Indies and England.
That's it for tonight's live coverage. Come back tomorrow for another contest from the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup which will begin at 3 pm local time when Australia take on Sri Lanka in a clash of the two remaining undefeated sides in Group 1. Until then, take care!
L Paul b Sadia Iqbal 4 (14m 8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00
END OF OVER:16 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | IRE-W: 95/9 (71 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 5.93, RRR: 17.75)
- Jane Maguire0 (1b)
- Leah Paul4 (5b)
- Nida Dar3-1-5-2
- Sadia Iqbal3-0-17-1
C Murray b Nida Dar 2 (5m 4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00
END OF OVER:15 | 4 Runs 1 Wkt | IRE-W: 93/8 (73 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 6.20, RRR: 14.60)
- Cara Murray1 (1b)
- Leah Paul3 (3b)
- Sadia Iqbal3-0-17-1
- Nashra Sandhu4-0-18-4
The difference between these two sides in the fielding department has been huge. Pakistan has arguably had only one blunder which was a misjudgment with the fielder coming off the rope too far at deep midwicket as the ball landed behind her and bounced over the rope. Otherwise, they've been on the ball. Ireland was poor throughout.
AN Kelly c Aiman Anwer b Sadia Iqbal 1 (4m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.33
END OF OVER:14 | 2 Runs 2 Wkts | IRE-W: 89/7 (77 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 6.35, RRR: 12.83)
- Leah Paul1 (1b)
- Nashra Sandhu4-0-18-4
- Aliya Riaz1-0-16-0
Quite a spell by Nashra that has effectively killed off the match, taking out Prendergast and Richardson.
MV Waldron c Javeria Khan b Nashra Sandhu 1 (13m 5b 0x4 0x6) SR: 20.00
Well, Richardson was pretty much Ireland's last hope of chasing this total.
EAJ Richardson c Sadia Iqbal b Nashra Sandhu 28 (26m 17b 5x4 0x6) SR: 164.70
END OF OVER:13 | 16 Runs | IRE-W: 87/5 (79 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 6.69, RRR: 11.28)
- Eimear Richardson28 (14b)
- Mary Waldron0 (3b)
- Aliya Riaz1-0-16-0
- Nashra Sandhu3-0-16-2
Even with a dot, that 16-run over is Ireland's best of the chase, eclipsing the 14 runs Prendergast took in the fourth over.