Pakistan and Ireland faced off in a three-match T20I series ahead of the T20 World Cup. The two teams organized this series mainly as a preparation for the World Cup. The players in the squad announced for the World Cup are seen performing in this series. Cricket fans have witnessed a great performance in this series held at Ireland's home. But in the end, the visiting Pakistan team won the series with a margin of 2-1!
The first T20 match between Ireland and Pakistan took place on 10th May. Relatively weak team Ireland performed brilliantly in this match at Cloughturf Cricket Club of Ireland. Ireland captain Paul Stirling won the toss and decided to bowl at home. Pakistan team made a great start by coming to bat at the invitation of Ireland. Mohammad Rizwan failed but Saim Ayyub and Captain Barab Azam gave the team a good start. However, the team could not complete the quota of 200 runs due to the batting failure of the middle order.
In response to Pakistan's 183 runs, Ireland didn't start well, but the host Ireland made a great comeback in the match. Andre Bilburni's brilliant batting performance of 77 runs, along with good contributions from Harry Tractor and Dockrell, led the team to victory against Pakistan. Pakistan's bowling unit failed completely with the ball on this day. Nobody could bowl well except Shaheen Shah Afridi. With this win, Ireland took a 1-0 lead in the series by shocking Pakistan.
In the first T20I, Ireland won the toss, but in the second T20I, the visiting Pakistan team won the toss. Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bowl. Pakistan's main goal was to make a comeback in the second match after the lost in the first T20. However, Pakistan's bowlers couldn't perform well with the ball in this match as well. But Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam did a great job batting for Pakistan As a result, Pakistan team returned to parity in the series with an easy six-wicket win.
After the 1st and 2nd T20 matches, the fate of the series depended on the outcome of the 3rd T20 match. After the victory of Ireland in the first match and Pakistan in the second match, both teams had a chance to win the series. Pakistan won the toss in an unannounced final. Captain Babar decided to bowl early in this match as well. Basically, Pakistan's plan was to chase the hosts by keeping them short.
In the last T20 match too, Pakistan's bowlers failed to prevent the hosts from getting a run. The team got 193 runs after losing seven wickets in the combined performance of Ireland's batsmen. But like the Pakistan bowlers, the Irish bowlers also failed with the ball in this match. Md. Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, and Azam Khan's storming batting ensured the Pakistan team secured the series by seven wickets.
Pakistan Cricket Board