Following Ireland’s historic win against Pakistan in the first T20I at Clontarf Cricket Club, Ireland’s T20I captain Paul Stirling shared his thoughts on the pitch conditions. He mentioned that Pakistan usually plays on very flat pitches. Despite Pakistan setting a target of 183 runs, Ireland managed to chase it down with one ball remaining in the last over.
Stirling explained why he chose to let Pakistan bat first after winning the coin toss. He said, “We’re really happy. We wanted to start the summer well, and today was almost perfect for us. When teams come here, especially from Pakistan where pitches are usually very flat, we ask them to bat first and see how many runs they can score. We were confident in chasing 180.”
He praised Andy Balbirnie for his fantastic half-century, which earned him the Player of the Match award. Stirling remarked, “Balbirnie played brilliantly. He handled the powerplay well and then picked up the pace later on. It was an outstanding innings. We’ve had some great games here, especially against Pakistan. It feels amazing to come out on top.”
