Ireland defeated Pakistan in a record-setting match

Ireland defeated Pakistan in a record-setting match in Dublin. In the first T20I of the three-match series, Paul Stirling's team defeated Pakistan by a margin of 5 wickets.

Batting first, Pakistan posted 182 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. In response, Ireland chased down the target of 183 runs in 19.5 overs, losing 5 wickets. With this, the total runs scored by both teams in the match reached 365, making it the highest-scoring T20I match between Pakistan and Ireland.

Losing the toss, Pakistan batted first. Opening with Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan could only score 1 run off 4 balls. This experienced batter fell early, but captain Babar Azam built a partnership of 85 runs with Saim Ayub.

Saim Ayub scored 45 runs off 29 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes before getting out, while Babar Azam completed his fifty but got out after scoring 57 runs off 43 balls with 8 fours and 1 six.

Despite Fakhar Zaman's quick 20 runs off 18 balls, Shadab Khan and Azam Khan couldn't open their run accounts. In the end, Iftikhar Ahmed scored 37 runs unbeaten off 15 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes, while Shaheen Shah Afridi scored 14 runs off 8 balls with 1 four and 2 sixes, helping Pakistan reach 182 runs.

For Ireland, Craig Young took 2 wickets, while Mark Adair and Gareth Delany took 1 wicket each.

Ireland didn't start well in their chase. They lost 2 wickets for just 27 runs. Captain Paul Stirling scored 8 runs off 5 balls, and Lorcan Tucker scored 4 runs off 7 balls before getting out.

Then, Andy Balbirnie and Harry Tector built a partnership of 77 runs. Although Harry Tector got out after scoring 36 runs off 27 balls, Andy Balbirnie remained unbeaten, scoring 77 runs off 55 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes.

George Dockrell scored 24 runs off 12 balls, Gareth Delany scored 10* runs off 6 balls, and Curtis Campher scored 15* runs off 7 balls as Ireland chased down the target with 1 ball to spare and 5 wickets in hand.

For Pakistan, Abbas Afridi took 2 wickets, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Imad Wasim took 1 wicket each. The man of the match was Andy Balbirnie.