Opening T20I
DUBLIN: In the inaugural match of the three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series between Ireland and Pakistan, Ireland won the toss and elected to bowl first.
The encounter, hosted at the Clontarf Cricket Club in Dublin, marks the beginning of Pakistan’s Europe tour ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.
The remaining two matches of the series are scheduled to take place at Castle Avenue on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively.
Following this series, Pakistan will proceed to Headingley, Leeds, for a series of four T20Is against England, commencing on Wednesday.
Subsequent to the England series, with fixtures scheduled at Headingley (May 22), Birmingham (May 25), Cardiff (May 28), and The Oval, London (May 30), both teams will participate in the T20I World Cup 2024.
Pakistan’s campaign in the tournament will commence against the United States in Dallas on June 6.
This ongoing series marks the first occasion where Ireland is hosting Pakistan for a T20I series. Previously, the two teams encountered each other only once in the T20I World Cup 2009, where Pakistan emerged victorious by 39 runs. Kamran Akmal received the player of the match award for his impressive 51-ball 57 and two stumpings.
Interestingly, both teams find themselves in the same group for the T20I World Cup 2024 and are scheduled to face each other in Florida on June 16. Alongside Pakistan and Ireland, India, USA, and Canada are also in the same group, with the top two teams progressing to the next stage.
Babar Azam, recently re-appointed as Pakistan’s white-ball skipper, leads the visiting side, while Paul Stirling, a stalwart of Ireland Cricket, captains the home team.
In Pakistan’s lineup, Mohammad Rizwan makes a return to the playing XI after recovering from a hamstring injury sustained during the five-match T20I series against New Zealand last month.
However, experienced pacer Mohammad Amir misses out on the first T20I due to a delay in receiving Ireland’s visa, preventing him from traveling to the country in time.
The playing XIs for the match are as follows:
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abbas Afridi
Pakistan playing XI for the first T20I 👇#IREvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/ncvPQWCMKX
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 10, 2024
Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Ben White, Craig Youn
Before this series, Ireland contested a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in March 2024, which they lost 2-1.
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