The first T20I between Ireland and South Africa in Abu Dhabi on Friday (September 27, 2024) saw the Proteas emerge victorious. Opting to bowl first, the Proteas were all over Ireland despite some resistance by Curtis Campher and Neil Rock. In their pursuit of 172, Aiden Markram's men made light weather of the chase as Ryan Rickelton hammered the Irish bowlers to all corners of the stadium. Follow the cricket scores and ball-by-ball commentary from the IRE vs RSA game, right here.
The Proteas skipper Aiden Markram won the toss and elected to field first.
Playing XIs
Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Neil Rock (wk), George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Matthew Humphreys, Craig Young, Benjamin White.
South Africa: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Patrick Kruger, Bjorn Fortuin, Nqaba Peter, Lizaad Williams, Ottneil Baartman.
The series was supposed to be hosted by Ireland, but is being held in the United Arab Emirates instead due to what the Ireland board's chief executive Warren Deutrom called "infrastructure constraints". Ireland do not have a permanent home stadium and have to pay rent and bring in temporary facilities each time they play at home.
