PAKISTAN beat Ireland by 39 runs in their Super Eight match at The Oval to seal a place in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20.

After Pakistan captain Younis Khan won the toss and elected to make first use of a flat track, his side posted 159-5 from their 20 overs.

Ireland, chasing 160, lost the key wicket of Niall O’Brien halfway through the third over, and never managed to haul themselves up to the required run rate, which rose steadily beyond eight an over.

Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was the star in Pakistan’s innings after he scored 57 off 51 balls at the top of the order and dominated Ireland’s bowling throughout.

Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul consolidated their status as the tournament’s top wicket-takers, with 11 and 12 respectively, after stifling the Irish response with precise and potent bowling.

Ajmal finished with fine figures of 4-19 off his four overs, bowling with guile and invention, while Gul was relentless in his line and length, taking 2-19.

Shahzaib Hasan, Misbah-ul-Haq scored quick 20s to support Akmal, while Shahid Afridi came in at number three to bludgeon a brisk 24 off 13 balls.

Ireland’s bowling attack struggled to contain Pakistan’s dynamic batsmen, with only Kyle McCallan and seamer Boyd Rankin able to make a mark.

McCallan was composed and accurate with his off spin, taking 2-26 from his four-over allocation, while the imposing Rankin extracted pace and bounce in the conditions and completed his spell for the paltry cost of 11 runs.

Afridi was then clinical with the ball in hand, taking the wicket of Paul Stirling to compound Ireland’s poor start after the loss of the dangerous O’Brien.

Due to a far superior net run rate, Pakistan are guaranteed their place in the tournament semi-finals, along with South Africa. (Europsort)

PAKISTAN innings
K. Akmal b Johnston 57
S. Hasan c McCallan b Cusack 23
S. Afridi c Mooney b McCallan 24
Y. Khan b West 10
Misbah-ul-Haq c wkp. N. O’Brien b McCallan 20
A. Razzaq not out 15
S. Malik not out 4

Extras: (lb-3, w-2, nb-1) 6
Total: (5 wickets, 20 overs) 159
Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-78, 3-102, 4-133, 5-141.

Bowling: Rankin 4-0-11-0, Johnston 4-0-45-1 (nb-1, w-1), Cusack 4-0-41-1, West 4-0-33-1 (w-1), McCallan 4-0-26-2.

IRELAND innings
W. Porterfield c Y. Khan b Ajmal 40
N. O’Brien c&b Aamer 7
P. Stirling b Afridi 17
K. O’Brien stp. wkp. Akmal b Ajmal 26
J. Mooney c Razzaq b Ajmal 2
T. Johnston b Gul 0
A. White b Gul 5
A. Cusack stp. wkp. Akmal b Ajmal 2
K. McCallan not out 2
R. West run-out 1
B. Rankin not out 5

Extras: (b-1, lb-7, w-3, nb-2) 13
Total: (9 wickets, 20 overs) 120
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-42, 3-87, 4-93, 5-99, 6-108, 7-110, 8-110, 9-111.

Bowling: Mohammad Aamer 4-0-19-1 (w-1), Abdul Razzaq 3-0-18-0, Shahid Afridi 4-0-26-1 (w-1), Saeed Ajmal 4-0-19-4 (w-1), Shoaib Malik 1-0-11-0, Umar Gul 4-0-19-2 (nb-2).

Points: Pakistan 2, Ireland 0.