Barry McCarthy finally restored some pride for a beleaguered Ireland, but they still lost to Pakistan by three wickets to finish bottom of their T20 World Cup Group.

The Pembroke man bowled a superb double-wicket maiden to finish with 3 for 15 as Pakistan lost four wickets for just 10 runs, slumping to 62 for 6 chasing what looked a modest 106-run target.

With Curtis Campher and Mark Adair also joining in, the Boys in Green made their opponents fight all the way, with the guile and experience of Babar Azam crucial in a tense finale, marshalling the tail to clinch the win in the penultimate over.

Having lost what looked like another crucial toss, the Irish top four were blown away – dismissed for a combined three runs by the left-arm pace of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Amir.

At 32 for 6, Ireland was once again in danger of their lowest T20 World Cup total, but Gareth Delany continued the ultra-aggressive approach and cleared the ropes three times in his 32, as he and Mark Adair avoided that unwanted landmark.

It hasn’t been a great tournament with the ball for Josh Little, but his unbeaten 22 got Ireland past three figures which in what has been a low-scoring tournament was nearly enough.

“I’m proud of the fight we've shown,” said captain Paul Stirling afterwards.

“It's about getting that balance right. We probably haven't got that this time around. It's been a difficult couple of weeks, we will go back, regroup and see if we can come back stronger."