On Friday, May 10, Ireland and Pakistan faced battle in the first match of their three-game Twenty20 International series at Castle Avenue in Dublin. Pakistan lost the toss and elected to bat first in the opening exchange of the match. Opening batsman Mohammad Rizwan was bowled out after four deliveries for just one run, giving the visitors a poor start.
Babar Azam, the captain, had an impressive performance, scoring 57 runs in 43 deliveries, while Saim Ayub scored 45 runs in 29 deliveries. Additionally, Fakhar Zaman put 20 runs on the board.
Ireland scored two runs in quick succession when Azam and Shadab Khan were out for ducks each, just as Pakistan was trying to recover. Pakistan scored 182 runs in the first innings because to a valiant performance by Iftikhar Ahmed, who scored 37* runs in 15 deliveries after the middle order collapse. Shaheen Shah Afridi also contributed 14* runs to the score.
Craig Young took two wickets, which made him the leading wicket-taker for Ireland. Additionally, Mark Adair and Gareth Delany each claimed one wicket.
Ireland’s first T20I victory was driven by a masterclass from Andy Balbirnie.
Ireland was in danger as they attempted to reach the target of 183 runs after opener and captain Paul Stirling was dismissed for just eight runs and Lorcan Tucker managed just four runs.
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The veteran Andy Balbirnie’s knock was the catalyst for Ireland’s decisive win. With 77 runs in 55 deliveries, the great hitter gave his team the victory. Harry Tector, who scored 36 runs in 27 deliveries, also made a big impact during the run chase.
Ireland took the lead in the series after winning the match by five wickets and chasing down the target. Abbas Afridi took the most wickets for Pakistan with two, followed by Naseem Shah, Imad Wasim, and Shaheen Shah Afridi with one wicket each.
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