Match: Ireland v Pakistan, 2nd ODI (Two match series)

Venue: Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin, Ireland.

Date & Time: 26th May, 2013, 14:45 PST / 09:45 GMT

Overall Rivalry: Pakistan 2 wins, Ireland 1 win, 1 tie

Weather Report: Partly cloudy with a chance of rain in the afternoon. A high of 16C is expected with winds from the SSW up to 20 km/h. Dark clouds will threaten all day with chances of rain.

Ground Report: Clontarf Cricket Club was founded in 1876, the year USA celebrated the first 100 years of its existence and the pint was for less than 1p in the Kingdom. This was a year before the first England vs Australia Test match.

The pitch in game one lacked pace and had a lot of cracks on the surface. It was expected to aid the spinners a lot more than it actually did. A total of 266 appeared to be a good one until it was chased down in 47 overs by a resolute Irish batting line. The team batting first will have to benchmark themselves closer to the 300 mark to feel more secure. However, 250 should still be a competitive total.

Game On: In the last couple of years, Ireland has seemed to pull away from the likes of Kenya, Canada and Netherlands, their traditional competitors within the ICC associate nation program. The quality gap between Ireland and the Test playing nations of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh is now perhaps smaller than between the Irish and the rest of the associate countries.

The Clontarf Cricket Club had a buzzing crowd on Thursday where the spectators hung around during the start-stop routine in the first half of play, the Pakistan innings was interrupted four times by rain. With slightly better conditions expected on Sunday afternoon, a full house crowd will be supporting the home team with a few Pakistani flags fluttering as well.

Pakistan will be happy that their all-important batting middle order has had some valuable time out in the middle. Captain Misbah got runs against the Scots, while Asad Shafiq and Muhammad Hafeez also joined the party with a fluent 188 run partnership on Thursday. The flourish at the end of Muhammad Hafeez’s innings would have given him much needed confidence in conditions that he has not always looked comfortable in.

Pakistan’s ace, Saeed Ajmal, recorded his worst ODI figures of 0 for 71 and their spearhead fast bowler Junaid Khan also went for over six runs an over. In matches of low importance, the Pakistani team can often slack. The Irish backlash should be a good doze for the visitors to pull up their socks and tighten the screws a little.

In retrospect, the chance given to Kevin O’Brien when he was batting on 19 was the turning point of the game. Shoaib Malik, one of the best fielders in the team was the culprit on the occasion. Pakistan is often found wanting in the field and lose far too many games due the lack of agility and the ability to hold their catches. With the temperature going down to a single digit, it will not get easier for the tourists and Ireland will look for a repeat performance and try to cross the finishing line this time. They have to prove that it was not a one-off tied game against the cricketing power house but that Ireland belongs in the upper tier of cricket and can compete with the big boys.

Game Changer: There will be more expectations from them to come out on Sunday and upset Pakistan – how they handle pressure will be key to their success. It will also be important for Ireland to show hunger and appetite for the glory they search.

Pre-Game Talk:
"They played very well, and we are expecting another tough match." Asad Shafiq weary of the Irish threat.

"We definitely feel we can win the series. We respect Pakistan, they are a great team but we have nothing to fear having come so close here." Kevin O’Brien shows no fear.

Last XI Fielded Ireland: William Porterfield (capt), George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, AR Cusak, Ed Joyce, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson.

Last XI Fielded Pakistanis: Imran Frahat, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq(capt), Asad Shafiq, Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal, Ehsan Adil, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan.

Possible Changes:

Ireland: Ireland will try to carry their momentum and are likely to go unchanged.

Pakistan: Wahab Riaz or Asad Ali might replace one of the faster bowlers.

Final Words: Ireland has been famous for being giant killers but they have to find enough steam to consistently give test playing countries a run for their money. They surely believe they can.