IRE vs SA | Twitter in awe as sterling Bartmaan inseaming jaffa denies Stirling ton

Ireland put the horror showing in the first two ODIs behind them to put up an impressive batting display in the final ODI at Abu Dhabi as they looked well on-course for a 300-plus score heading into the final 10 overs. The foundation was laid by a brilliant century stand between openers Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie, followed by crucial cameos from the top and middle order. However, none of their players bar the skipper managed to convert their stars into big scores, and even Stirling was halted midway through his journey to a 15th ODI ton by a certain Ottniel Baartman.

The Proteas pacer excelled early on with his typical length, but the predictability of it saw Stirling dance down the track on the second ball of the 35th over to take his score to 88 with a  boundary. However, Bartmaan persisted, dropping the ball slightly shorter on his ensuing effort around the fourth stump line from over the wicket. The Irish veteran decided to pay heed to the dangerous length and leant forward for a defence but to his chagrin, the Kookaburra nipped in off the deck with the angle to comprehensively pierce the gap between bat and pad and shatter into the middle stump.

Stirling was left distraught at having fallen at such a crucial stage in the innings while Baartman cherished a second scalp into the game, much to Twitterati's amusement.

What a ball!

Great batter!

He's brilliant with the bat!

He is something else!

That was nice ball!

Yeah!

Lol! He batted well too!

He looked so good there!

Yeah they did!