Rankin, O’Brien lead Ireland charge

Ireland rode on its medium-pacers to gain the upper hand on the second day of its ICC Intercontinental Cup clash against Scotland in Dubai on Thursday (November 30).

Resuming on 37 without loss after bowling out Ireland for 251 on day one, Scotland was bowled out for 141 runs in 52.2 overs, conceding a lead of 110. William Porterfield's side men then reached 186 for 5 in 45 overs in the second innings, stretching the lead to 296.

George Munsey (38) and Kyle Coetzer (22), the Scotland skipper, had only added 23 runs to their overnight stand when Boyd Rankin got rid of the latter in the 18th over.

From 55 without loss, Scotland lost all its ten wickets for the addition of just 86 runs. Coming in at No. 7, Safyaan Sharif (26 n.o.) stuck it out but soon ran out of partners.

Rankin was complemented by fellow seamers Kevin O'Brien and Tim Murtagh as the trio shared nine wickets between them. While Rankin finished with 4 for 45, O'Brien took 3 for 14 and Murtagh returned 2 for 24.

Porterfield (29), Paul Stirling (12), Andrew Balbirnie (21) and John Anderson (14) got starts in Ireland's second essay but failed to convert them to make big scores. Gary Wilson and Simi Singh then added 64 runs for the fifth wicket before the former was run out on 56.

At the close of play, Simi and O'Brien remained unbeaten on 34 and 13 respectively to lead their side to a commanding position.