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Pakistan required a victory to reach the semis and they did in convincing fashion with their exemplary bowling performance to trounce Ireland by 39 runs. Saeed Ajmal was the hero for Pakistan returning with figures of 4 for 19.

Set to chase a daunting target of 159, Ireland lost wickets at regular intervals to lose their momentum. Pak Pacer Mohammed Aamer bowled intelligent bouncers to choke the Irish batsmen. Then the spinning duo of Ajmal and Shahid Afridi stunned the hapless batsman of Ireland, capturing 5 wickets for 45 runs between them. Ajmal was the most lethal, picking up 4 for 19 for a Bowling Efficiency (BE) of 168 for which he was judged the Man of the Match. Umar Gul continued his good run in the tournament bowling perfect yorkers to trigger batting collapse of Ireland.

Earlier, the Pakistan batting also came off good with Kamran Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan giving a steady start by scoring 38 runs in 34 balls. Kamran (57 runs from 51 balls, a Batting Momentum or BM of 64) blasted five 4s and a 6 to accelerate the team BM. Afridi played the role of a pinch-hitter to perfection by hammering 13 balls for 24 runs. Pakistan was able to build useful partnerships for every wicket, which allowed them to maintain a quick run rate throughout their innings. Misbah-ul-Haq and Abdul Razzaq scored briskly in the death overs which allowed Pakistan to pose a formidable target of 159 runs.

Amongst the Irish bowlers, Boyd Rankin was unlucky not to get any wicket for his fiery spell in which he gave away only 11 runs. Kyle MacCallan bowled intelligently by tossing up slow off breaks to pick 2 wickets for 26 runs (Bowling Efficiency of 62). But Pakistan proved too strong a team for Ireland in the end.