Pakistan reached 182 thanks to Babar's fifty and Iftikhar's 38* off 15 balls, but Ireland caught up with one ball remaining.

Pakistan 182 for 6 (Babar 57, Ayub 45, Young 2-27) lost to Ireland 183 for 5 (Balbirnie 77, Tector 36, Abbas 2-36) by five wickets.

For their first Twenty20 international match in fifteen years, Ireland and Pakistan faced off, and Andy Balbirnie's seventy-seven-run innings helped the home team win. It was Ireland's first victory over Pakistan in the format; the teams' only previous encounter occurred in the 2009 World T20.

Before cameos from George Dockrell and Curtis Campher got Ireland over the finish line, Harry Tector laid the groundwork for the 183-run chase with a 77-run partnership with Balbirnie for the third wicket.

The chase came down to a tight finish, with Pakistan having two wickets from Abbas Afridi and an over each from Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi, while Ireland needed forty in the final four overs. Dockrell was removed by Abbas to begin the 17th over, and he only gave up three runs in the first four deliveries. then then the pattern started, a bowler getting off to a good start in an over then giving up a late boundary to reduce the asking rate.

In the subsequent over, Balbirnie was given a life when Shadab Khan failed to hang onto a difficult opportunity with Ireland needing another 28 runs from 17 balls. After Naseem hit a few yorkers, the game was once again in the balance. To make it 11 off the over, Delany, however, made room and crunched a low full toss through cover.

In the last over, which began with Ireland needing another 19, Shaheen was closer to his best. He bowled yorkers around the wicket and used a swerving, low full toss to topple Balbirnie. But Abbas had 11 balls to protect off the last over after Campher's bold reverse ramp first ball over the keeper.

Campher was taken aback by the first ball by Abbas rising off a shortish length, but managed to guide it off the under-edge between the wicketkeeper and short third for four. He capitalised on a missed yorker to level the scores before sneaking a leg bye to seal victory.

Tector and Balbirnie got the chase started

Naseem cheaply dismissed Paul Stirling as a result of Ireland's aggressive opening drive. Despite being granted the opportunity to bowl in the powerplay, Shaheen failed miserably in his two opening overs, and his replacement, Abbas, struck first ball.

Even after scoring 27 points for 2, Tector continued to search for early boundaries. After 10 overs, Ireland had improved from 43 for 2 in the powerplay to 84 for 2, thanks to Balbirnie's consolidation at the opposite end. Imad Wasim had tightened his length to keep afloat, so they went after Shadab Khan instead.

Tector was hit by Imad, but in the game-changing 14th over, Dockrell and Balbirnie combined to take Shadab out for 23. Iftikhar Ahmed was placed at long-on to receive the final delivery, but he stepped on the boundary cushion, costing Dockrell a wicket and six runs. To ensure a good conclusion, Balbirnie and Dockrell maintained a run rate of approximately nine runs per over.

Babar fifty, Iftikhar cameo lift Pakistan


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Pakistan was batting earlier in the day for Ireland. Following Tector's outfield run and Mohammed Rizwan's plea for a single from Ayub before being sent back, Babar Azam joined Saim Ayub in the second over.

When attempting to muscle the ball on the powerplay, Babar and Ayub had varying degrees of success. While they did manage to smash six fours and a six, they were frequently outplayed by short balls from Mark Adair and Barry McCarthy.

Following the powerplay, Ben White and Curtis Campher were faced by the two batsmen, who quickly gained momentum and scored 53 runs in the following five overs. Delany ended the 85-run stand off 57 balls when Ayub holed out to a wide drag down. They punished at everything that was either full or too short.

In the thirteenth over, Babar scored a fifty off 39 balls, but the runs kept coming in as he kept hitting and missing, while Fakhar Zaman could not get off the blocks.

After Young returned in the 13th over, Pakistan was pinned back by Babar, who finished with a 43-ball 57 after mishandling a short ball to long-on, and Azam Khan, who attempted to go over deep square leg, was dismissed for a two-ball duck.

From the fifteenth over onwards, Pakistan lost 3 for 7 in six legal balls. In the 18th over, Fakhar was dismissed for 20 runs off 18 balls, but Iftikhar remained unmoved. He became fond of Adair, hitting him for eight valid balls, including three sixes and two fours.

Shaheen's two sixes off McCarthy in the 19th over helped Iftikhar, who finished on 38* from 15 balls, as Pakistan hammered 44 off the final three to reach 182, which Ireland chased down with one ball remaining.