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Ireland vs South Africa, 2nd T20I: Ireland scripted its first win in men’s T20 Internationals against South Africa at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Ireland beat the Proteas by 10 runs in the second game of a two-match series held at a neutral venue in UAE.
This was Ireland’s second win against South Africa in international cricket, having beaten the Proteas in an ODI back in 2021 in Dublin.
It was the highest total for Ireland vs South Africa and they successfully defended it, becoming the first team to win a match batting first at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in the last eight T20Is played at the venue.
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Ross Adair emerged as the hero for Ireland with a brilliant century to help his side post a total of 195/6. The total proved too much for South Africa as they failed to chase down the target to level the two-match T20I series at 1-1.
Ross, the elder of the Adair brothers, became just the third Irish men’s player to hit a T20I century. He hammered nine sixes and five fours in his knock of 100 from just 58 deliveries. He joined Kevin O’Brien and Stirling in Ireland’s T20I hundred club in men’s cricket, delivering a powerful display of batting in his 10th appearance in the format.
The 30-year-old built a solid foundation for and recorded Ireland’s second-highest T20 opening stand of 137 with captain Paul Stirling, who scored his first fifty.
Stirling made a significant contribution with a rapid 52 off 31 balls – the Ireland skipper’s 24th half century in T20Is. However, his knock was overshadowed by the brilliance of Ross.
With the strong start, Ireland were projected to score above 200, but lost 6 wickets for 43 in 32 balls to leave some runs unscored. However, they posted a decent target for South Africa.
Reeza Hendricks’ half century kept South Africa afloat before being dismissed by Ben White, and by the time skipper Aiden Markram was bowled by Matthew Humphreys seven balls later, the Proteas were 130/3,requiring 66 from 38.
Mark Adair and Neil Rock soon combined to dismiss Tristan Stubbs, but Matthew Breetzke passed 50 and took South Africa to within 23 runs of victory with 12 balls remaining.
Adair subsequently took three wickets in the penultimate over, including that of Breetzke, before Hume (3-25) saw out the final over that claimed a major victory for Ireland. South Africa lost five wickets for 25 to fall 11 runs short.
Also Read: Ireland vs South Africa Series: Squad, Schedule, Venue
Ireland vs South Africa, 2nd T20I: Scorecard
First Innings
Ireland Score – 195/6 in 20.0 overs
Ross Adair 100(58)
Paul Stirling 52(31)
Wiaan Mulder 4-51-2
Lungi Ngidi 4-23-1
Second Innings
South Africa Score – 185/9 in 20.0 overs
Reeza Hendricks 51(32)
Matthew Breetzke 51(41)
Mark Adair 4-31-4
Graham Hume 4-25-3
The two sides will now head for the three-match Ireland vs South Africa ODI series, which kicks off at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on October 2.
