Joyce's hundred leads Ireland's comeback win
Ed Joyce passed 10000 List A runs during his innings and ensured his side chased down 223 from 91 for 5
ESPNcricinfo staff
11-Jan-2018
Ireland 226 for 6 (Joyce 116*, Wilson 53, Naveed 2-45) beat UAE 222 for 9 (Shahzad 75, Rankin 2-26) by four wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Ed Joyce passed 10000 List A runs en route to his sixth ODI century as Ireland enjoyed a winning start to the ODI tri-series in the UAE. Joyce struck 13 fours and a six in his unbeaten 116 off 149 balls, helping his side secure a chase of 223 from 91 for 5.
He combined with Gary Wilson, who made 53 off 83 balls, to add 131 for the sixth wicket and tilt the game in Ireland's favour. Left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza dismissed Wilson with Ireland one run away from the target, but Joyce wrapped up the win with four wickets and four balls to spare.
"I didn't know about the 10,000 List A runs," Joyce told the Cricket Ireland website. "But yeah it feels pretty good. I loved getting the hundred, I felt in great nick going into the game and physically good."
Captain William Porterfield (28) made the only other substantial contribution in the chase. Seamer Mohammad Naveed did the damage upfront with the ball, removing Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie for ducks. The O'Brien brothers all fell cheaply, but UAE could not find a way past Joyce.
Earlier, the Ireland bowlers had produced a collective performance to limit UAE to 222 for 9. The seamers - Boyd Rankin, Barry McCarthy, Peter Chase and Kevin O'Brien claimed two wickets each - while left-arm spinner Dockrell picked up one. Rameez Shahzad top-scored for the hosts with 75 off 111 balls, including seven fours and two sixes. Debutants Ashfaq Ahmed and Mohammad Boota were the only other UAE batsmen to pass 30.