The Irish are experiencing the same feelings as they did in 2007 when they defeated Pakistan in the first T20 International. Below are the specifics of that match.
In the first T20 International between the two teams, Ireland wrote history by becoming the first European nation to defeat the reigning World T20 champions. Ireland was victorious over Pakistan in the ODI format during the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup. They have now achieved the same feat in the T20 format, winning by an astounding five wickets.
Still, skipper Babar Azam of Pakistan said it was a day to forget, blaming the loss on subpar fielding.
“I believe our start was not excellent. I believe the pitch was rapid, and while I originally thought 180 would be a nice total, I now believe 190 would have been adequate. We suffered defeats in both bowling and fielding. We had a couple fielding lapses, which was the reason. I believe we had a good first ten overs, followed by a few lapses in the next ten. That was the reason for our loss,” claimed the Pakistan captain.
Andrew Balbirnie was named Man of the Match for his outstanding 77 off 55, which was his greatest ever T20I score against a Test-playing team, and said the following:
“I was hopeful and believed that it was my job to complete the chase. I believe that experienced players should step up in high-pressure circumstances. Harry advised me to bat naturally and avoid putting ourselves under strain. I think Shaheen is an excellent bowler, and it’s a shame I missed the complete throw. Yes, tomorrow is a leisure day for us.”
