Pakistan vs Ireland, the final pool game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, comes with all the drama that you get in that final sprint for qualification, with one of the two teams likely, but not certain, to exit the tournament with a defeat and the other to enter the quarterfinals.
Everyone at the Adelaide Oval will be in the edge of their seats, chewing their fingernails, looking at the score of the West Indies vs UAE match and the permutations and combinations that follow with it in what promises to be a "cannot miss it for the world" CWC contest.
While plenty of number crunching will be done, at the end of the day for both sides, one part of the scenario is pretty simple – if they win on Sunday, they will qualify for the quarterfinals. If West Indies lose/tie/only get one point against the UAE in the earlier match, both sides will qualify.
Ireland will have to win if West Indies beat the UAE, while Pakistan can play with fire a little bit more and get away with it even if they go down to the spirited Associate side in Adelaide.
"I think our approach is straightforward, simple for the last three games: go out there, be positive, and especially when you are there to bowl, just try to get wickets," said Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq. "Try to get the other team out, and that's what we have been doing, and that's what our plan is even [against Ireland].
"A win settles down a lot of things normally, and I think now everybody knows their role, especially the pacers are really bowling well. All of them are wicket-takers, aggressive bowlers.
"And that's what we need if we are not batting well. We need some really good backing by the bowling, and all the pacers are really doing their job getting wickets, putting pressure on the opposition."
Pakistan vs Ireland is a clear-as-day game between a side that has a strong bowling attack against a side with a really good batting lineup. Pakistan's bowling attack probably trumps Ireland's batting unit on paper, though, and if they produce the kind of magic that they have done in their last three games, especially South Africa, then that quarterfinal place will be theirs.
The match could also boil down to the respective teams' weak spots – the batting for Pakistan and the bowling for Ireland. The main reason Ireland have only managed to upset West Indies, and to a certain extent Zimbabwe, in this World Cup is because their bowling has just not been good enough to worry the big teams, even when their batting has come to the party.
So, for this particular encounter, what could be one of their most important games in their cricketing history, the bowlers need to step up.
The same goes for the Pakistan batsmen, who do seem to have found their groove a tad in the last few matches. However, the batting still looks a little haphazard and if Pakistan can post a big total, with their bowling attack, a win should be assured, and with it the banishment of the 2007 World Cup ghosts.
"No doubt Ireland are a dangerous team (but), it is 2015, so we are not looking back to that," added Misbah on Saturday when asked of the loss in the 2007 World Cup which knocked them out of the tournament.
"We are focusing on tomorrow's game, that's it, and that is a must-win game for us."
Where to Watch Live
Get the Full Quarterfinal Lineup HERE
Get the Match Report HERE
Get the Live Scorecard of Pakistan vs Ireland HERE
Get the West Indies vs UAE Match Report and the consequences for this Match HERE
The Pakistan vs Ireland match is scheduled to begin at 2 pm local time (9 am IST, 3.30 am GMT, 10.30 pm ET) with live coverage in India on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 and the two respective HD channels. The match can also be watched via live streaming online on Starsports.com and Star Sports Live Pro.
Audience watching the match with baited breath in Pakistan will be able to do so on PTV and Ten Sports, with the live stream options on PTV Live and Ten Sports Live. Audience in Ireland and the UK can catch the match live on Sky Sports while the action can also be live streamed on Sky Go and Watch Sky Sports.
Viewers in the US can watch the match live on ESPN and ESPN Cricket, while the same goes for audience in the Middle East on OSN and OSN Play. Australia viewers can catch all the CWC action live on Fox Sports and Channel 9 or live online on Cricket Australia Live and Foxtel. Viewers in New Zealand can catch the game live on Sky TV and Sky Go NZ.
