- Ireland secured their first-ever T20I victory over Pakistan.
- Balbirnie and Tector lead Ireland’s successful chase of 183 runs.
- This victory is a historic moment for Irish cricket.
In the first T20I of the three-match series at the Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin, on Friday, Ireland pulled off a surprise victory over Pakistan by five wickets.
This marked the first time Ireland triumphed over Pakistan in T20Is, as the two teams had only previously faced off once in this format, with the Green Shirts coming out on top.
Despite a promising start in defending the 183-run target, with Pakistan securing two early wickets in the first five overs thanks to Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi, the Green Shirts were unable to resist Andrew Balbirnie and Harry Tector.
The Irish duo stood their ground against Pakistan’s bowling onslaught and established a solid 77-run partnership, which helped the home team recover from an initial setback.
Tector was dismissed after contributing 36 runs, but Balbirnie remained resolute and continued to rack up runs for his team. George Dockrell injected a burst of energy into Ireland’s innings, scoring 24 runs off 12 balls with four boundaries, which proved to be a pivotal moment in the match.
Shaheen claimed two wickets, while Abbas Afridi, Imad Wasim, and Naseem Shah each took one wicket.
Pakistan achieved a significant breakthrough when Shaheen dismissed Balbirnie, but Gareth Delany (10 on 6) and Curtis Campher (15 on 7) guided the home team to a triumphant finish.
Batting first, Pakistan scored 182/6, with team captain Babar Azam leading the charge with 57 off 43 balls, while Saim Ayub contributed a 29-ball 45. Iftikhar Ahmed also chipped in with a 15-ball 37*.
The Men in Green suffered an early setback with the loss of Mohammad Rizwan (1). Babar and Saim then formed a partnership to stabilize the innings with an 85-run stand.
Saim was caught by Campher off Delany’s bowling after scoring 45 runs off 29 balls, which included four boundaries and three sixes.
In the meantime, Babar reached his fifty for the 38th time in T20Is. He was caught by Mark Adair off Craig Young’s bowling, having scored 57 runs off 43 balls.
Pakistan faced a brief struggle where they lost four wickets for 31 runs, but Iftikhar managed to make up for the lost runs.
He blasted a 15-ball 37, featuring three fours and an equal number of sixes. Shaheen Shah Afridi also remained not out, scoring 13 runs off 7 balls, hitting two sixes, with a strike rate of 185.71.
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