**Revised Article:**
**LAUDERHILL: Pakistan captain Babar Azam led his team to a tense three-wicket victory over Ireland on Sunday in their final Group A match of the T20 World Cup, a match of little consequence after both sides had already been eliminated.**
Pakistan concluded their campaign third in the five-team group with four points, having suffered defeats to India and the United States, who progressed to the Super Eight stage. Ireland finished at the bottom with just one point, failing to secure a single victory.
The 2009 champions and runners-up in 2007 and 2022, Pakistan had a disappointing start to Group A, first enduring a stunning super-over defeat against the United States followed by a narrow six-run loss to arch-rivals India where they failed to chase down a modest target of 120 runs.
Opting to bowl after winning the toss, Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi (3-22) struck early, dismissing Andrew Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker in the opening over. Mohammad Amir (2-11) further dented Ireland's top order by removing skipper Paul Stirling and George Dockrell, leaving Ireland reeling at 28-5 by the sixth over.
Gareth Delany's quickfire 31 off 19 balls stabilized Ireland's innings briefly before falling to Imad Wasim (3-8). A resilient last-wicket partnership between Joshua Little (22 not out) and Benjamin White (5 not out) pushed Ireland to 106-9.
In response, Pakistan lost openers Mohammed Rizwan and Saim Ayub early during the powerplay, and further stumbled to 57-5 when Barry McCarthy (3-15) dismissed Usman Khan and Shadab Khan in quick succession.
However, Azam's unbeaten 32 guided Pakistan's chase, steering them to victory with seven balls to spare at Lauderhill’s Central Broward Park stadium, where three previous games had been abandoned due to rain.
**Pakistan XI:** Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Amir.
**Ireland XI:** Andy Balbirnie, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little, and Ben White.
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