Ireland have won their first ever T20I against the Proteas in a high-scoring encounter in Abu Dhabi. In a game that constantly ebbed and flowed, it was the maiden century for Ross Adair, backed up with some supreme death bowling, that sealed the deal for the Irishmen.

The de-facto hosts were off to a cracking start in the powerplay, with skipper Paul Stirling off to a flier. Ross Adair rode his luck early on, but when he was finally in the groove, there was no respite for the South African bowlers.

It wasn’t until the 13th over when SA finally broke the opening stand. Patrick Kruger’s change-ups came to the rescue, once again. But even as wickets continued to fall at the back end, Adair stood strong and reached his first ton in this format. And he was the third Irish player to reach this milestone.

At one point, 210 seemed to be there for the taking, but a respectable effort at the back end from Kruger and Williams prevented a late surge. At halftime, there was 196 to hunt down.

The Proteas were up and running, with Ryan Rickelton clearing the boundary four times in the powerplay. Reeza Hendricks was playing second fiddle, but Ireland hit back with Rickelton’s wicket.

However, SA seemed to be stable as Hendricks and Breetzke cobbled together a solid 71-run stand. But more importantly, the Irish spinners – Ben White and Matt Humphreys – kept the scoring rate under control.

Hendricks got to his second half-century in as many games, but his steady knock came to an end when he popped an easy catch to extra cover. Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, and Wiaan Mulder all had brief stays that ended up derailing the chase.

Upon reaching his half-century, Breetzke struggled for timing, and his dismissal in the 19th overall but slammed the door. Mark Adair claimed 3 wickets in the penultimate over, and the wicket of Patrick Kruger was the final rite.

Mark Adair finished with an impressive 4-wicket haul, and an economical 3-wicket spell from Graham Hume was a brilliant support act.

The T20I series is squared at 1-1, and we now move to the 3 ODIs.

IRE 195/6 in 20 overs (R Adair 100, Stirling 52 – Mulder 4-0-51-2, Ngidi 4-0-23-1)

SA 185/9 in 20 overs (Hendricks 51, Breetzke 51 – M Adair 4-0-31-4, Hume 4-0-25-3)