Ireland defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets in the first match of the 3-match T20 International series.

Ireland defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets in the first match of the 3-match T20 International series with the help of a half-century from Andrew Balbirnie. Captain Babar Azam also played a half-century innings for Pakistan but it went in vain. Ireland surprised Pakistan with this defeat and took a 1-0 lead in the series. In this match played at Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, Dublin, Ireland won the toss and decided to bowl first.

Batting first, Pakistan scored 182 runs losing 6 wickets in 20 overs. Captain Babar Azam scored the most runs for the team. He played a half-century of 57 runs in 43 balls with the help of 8 fours and one six. Sam Ayub played an inning of 45 runs in 29 balls with the help of 4 fours and 3 sixes. Babar and Sam made a partnership of 85 (57) runs for the second wicket. Iftikhar Ahmed remained unbeaten after scoring 37 runs in 15 balls with the help of 3 fours and 3 sixes. Craig Young got the maximum 2 wickets from Ireland. Mark Adair and Gareth Delany were successful in taking one wicket each.

Chasing the target, Ireland won the match by losing 5 wickets and scoring 183 runs in 19.5 overs. Andrew Balbirnie scored the most runs for Ireland. He played a half-century inning of 77 runs with the help of 10 fours and 2 sixes in 55 balls. Harry Tector played an inning of 36 runs in 27 balls with the help of 3 fours and a six. Balbirnie and Tector made a partnership of 77 (52) runs for the third wicket. George Dockrell scored 24 runs in 12 balls with the help of 2 fours and 2 sixes. Abbas Afridi took maximum 2 wickets for Pakistan. One wicket each went to the account of Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah.

Pakistan's playing eleven: Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sam Ayub, Babar Azam (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abbas Afridi.

Ireland's playing eleven: Paul Stirling (captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young, Benjamin White.