Ireland vs Pakistan: Kevin O'Brien's historic ton on Day 4 gives hosts outside chance of winning maiden Test

Dublin: Ireland has an outside chance of winning its inaugural Test after Kevin O’Brien led a second-innings recovery with an unbeaten century to lead Pakistan by 139 runs on Monday heading into the fifth and final day. Hours earlier on Day 4, the Irish were facing the prospect of an innings defeat, but they lost only three wickets in the final two sessions to reach stumps on 319-7 following on. [caption id=“attachment_4469419” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kevin O’Brien celebrates after becoming the first Irishman to score a Test century. Reuters[/caption] Even a draw would be a marvelous achievement for a country which was awarded Test status only last June. O’Brien became the first player to score a Test century for Ireland and he was there at the close on 118 not out, with his 114-run partnership with Stuart Thompson (53) for the seventh wicket proving decisive. Tyrone Kane was with O’Brien, unbeaten on 8. Mohammed Amir shrugged off a nagging knee problem to be the pick of the bowlers, finishing the day with figures of 3-57 as he reached 100 Test wickets. The left-arm paceman’s turbulent Test career was interrupted by a jail sentence by an English court and a five-year ban by the ICC for his involvement in a spot-fixing scandal in 2010. Resuming its second innings on 64 without loss after being asked to follow on and still needing 116 more runs to make Pakistan bat again, Ireland slumped to 123-4 by lunch. When Amir removed Gary Wilson (12), caught by Haris Sohail in the slips, and Paul Stirling (11) was trapped lbw by Mohammad Abbas, Pakistan were close to clinching victory. O’Brien’s circumspect batting — his 118 has come from 216 balls and contained 12 fours — has ensured Ireland stay alive at Malahide. Pakistan declared its first innings on 310-9 early on Day 3. The first day was washed out.