BRISBANE (AP):

Gary Wilson struck 80 runs from 69 balls in a defiant late innings to help Ireland edge the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by two wickets yesterday in a World Cup (WC) match that was finely balanced until the last over.

In the unfamiliar position of being the favourite in a World Cup match following its opening upset win over the West Indies, Ireland won the toss, sent the UAE in to bat, and had them in trouble at 78-4 before Shaiman Anwar came to the rescue with his maiden ODI century, to lift the total to 278-9.

The Irish never appeared completely comfortable in reply after losing Paul Stirling (3) in the second over, but remained cool enough to eventually reach 279-8 with four balls to spare after key contributions from Wilson and Kevin O'Brien (50).

Anwar scored an ODI career-high 106 from 83 balls and shared a 107-run partnership with Amjad Javed, who hit 42 from 35 balls and later returned to take three wickets and a crucial catch.

William Porterfield (37) and Ed Joyce (37) put on 68 for the second wicket for Ireland, but had some luck along the way.

Wilson fell in the 48th over to a brilliant catch from Javed, leaving George Dockrell (7) and Alex Cusack to score the remaining 12 runs.

The UAE was aiming for its second win at a World Cup, and first since a seven-wicket win over the Netherlands in 1996.

The UAE made a promising start with a 49-run opening stand between Amjad Ali (45) and Andri Berenger (13) before Stirling (2-27) took two wickets to slow it down.

Anwar, who led the scoring with 67 in UAE's opening loss to Zimbabwe, picked up the pace again with 10 fours and a six, until he was caught out in the 49th over.