Ireland defeats Pakistan by 5 wickets in the T20I match
The 77 runs by Andrew Balbirnie guided Ireland to their first victory over Pakistan in 17 years, as they won the opening Twenty20 international match by five wickets in Dublin on Friday. The opener’s innings played a major role as Ireland reached a target of 183 with a ball to spare.
This victory gave Ireland a 1-0 lead in a three-match series against the Pakistan team. They will also once again face each other in the group stage of next month’s T20 World Cup, which is going to be held in the United States and the West Indies.
It was just the second victory for Ireland against Pakistan, following their shock triumph at the 2007 50-over World Cup.
The skipper and star batsman of Team Pakistan, Babar Azam, top-scored for the tourists on Friday with 57 in a total of 182-6 that also featured SaimAyub’s 45.
Brief scores
Pakistan: 182; 20 overs (Babar Azam 57; C Young 2-27)
Ireland: 183-5, 19.5 overs (A Balbirnie 77; Abbas Afridi 2-36)