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Andy Balbirnie’s impressive innings laid the groundwork for Ireland’s triumphant five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first T20I of the three-match series on Friday, marking only the second T20I encounter between the two nations.

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 By PakPassion Staff (10th May 2025)

In pursuit of a challenging 183-run target, Ireland reached 43 for two in the PowerPlay and then 153 for four in 17 overs. Needing 11 runs off the final six deliveries, Curtis Campher struck two fours, managed a double, and secured the winning run off a leg-bye off the penultimate ball to hand Ireland their inaugural win over Pakistan. Campher remained unbeaten on 15 runs from seven balls.

Balbirnie unquestionably stood out as the star of Ireland’s victory and rightfully earned the player of the match accolade. The opener hammered 10 fours and two sixes, forging a vital 77-run third-wicket partnership off 52 balls with Harry Tucker, who contributed 36 off 27 balls with three sixes and a four.

Following Tucker's departure, Balbirnie added 39 runs off 20 balls for the fourth wicket with all-rounder George Dockrell, who smashed two sixes and two fours in a 12-ball 24. Balbirnie also formed a useful partnership for the fifth wicket with Gareth Delany (10 not out), yielding 24 runs off 15 balls.

For Pakistan, Abbas Afridi finished with figures of two for 36, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Imad Wasim each grabbed a wicket.

Earlier, a blistering knock by Iftikhar Ahmed and his unbroken 32-run seventh-wicket partnership off 13 balls with Shaheen Shah Afridi lifted Pakistan from a precarious 123 for five in 15.2 overs to 182 for six in 20 overs.

Iftikhar blasted three sixes and three fours in a 15-ball 37 not out, while Shaheen’s eight-ball 14 not out included two towering sixes.

Pakistan appeared to be on track for a substantial total before they lost Babar Azam, Azam Khan, and Shadab Khan in the space of five deliveries, slipping from 116 for two in 14.3 overs to 125 for five in 15.2 overs. When Fakhar Zaman departed at 150 in 17.5 overs, a score of 180 plus seemed out of reach.

However, Iftikhar and Shaheen showcased their power-hitting abilities to collect 32 runs in the remaining 13 deliveries to guide Pakistan to a score from where they could dictate terms.

Babar Azam and Saim Ayub had laid the foundation of a strong total before the momentum shifted, which was bolstered by Iftikhar and Shaheen. After Mohammad Rizwan was run-out in the second over, Babar and Saim put on 87 runs from 57 balls for the second wicket.

Babar, who batted at No. 3 to allow Saim to open the innings with Rizwan, reached his 35th career T20I half-century when he scored 57 runs off 43 balls with a strike-rate of 132.5. His innings featured eight fours and a six.

Babar has now accumulated 3,880 runs in 115 matches and will be aiming to become the second batter after Virat Kohli to reach the 4,000-run milestone. Kohli has scored 4,037 runs in 117 T20Is. Rohit Sharma has 3,974 runs in 151 matches, but he won’t be participating in any T20Is until the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 next month.

Saim struck four fours and three sixes in a 29-ball 43.

In summary, Ireland secured victory over Pakistan by five wickets.

Pakistan 182-6, 20 overs (Babar Azam 57, Saim Ayub 45, Iftikhar Ahmed 37 not out, Fakhar Zaman 20, Craig Young 2-27)

Ireland 183-5, 19.5 overs (Andy Balbirnie 77, Harry Tector 36, George Dockrell 24; Abbas Afridi 36)

Player of the match – Andy Balbirnie (Ireland)