The Adair brothers were the heroes as Ireland recorded their first win over South Africa in men’s T20 cricket.
Batting first, Ireland scored 195 runs for six wickets in Abu Dhabi with the help of a sensational century from Ross Adair.
Younger brother Mark then took four wickets, including three in the final over, as Ireland won by 10 runs.
Ireland had suffered sound defeats in the last six matches between the teams in this format, but this win gave them a level lead in the two-match series.
Ireland made a great start to their innings, scoring 59 runs without any loss during the powerplay.
Captain Paul Stirling and Ross Adair added 137 runs for the first wicket, before Patrick Kruger dismissed Paul Stirling for 52.
Adair scored a century in 57 balls, which included nine sixes, but was out on the very next ball, leaving Ireland at 174 for three in the 17th over.
They could only add 20 runs from the remaining 20 balls, leaving World Cup runners-up South Africa a target of 196 runs to win the series.
South Africa performed strongly, with opener Ryan Rickelton hitting four sixes in his 36 off 22 balls, while Reeza Hendricks and Matthew Bretzke both scored 51.
When they needed 23 runs from 12 balls at the beginning of the 19th over, they looked to be on their way to victory.
But Mark Adair bowled Wiaan Mulder and Dangerman Bretzke in the first three balls, then conceded four runs in the next two balls and ended the over by dismissing Nakabayomzi Peter.
This left South Africa needing 18 runs in the final set of six and Graham Hume took one wicket for just seven runs to secure a famous victory.
Every match of the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup will be live on Sky Sports from October 3-20, with Australia aiming for a third consecutive title and seventh overall, and England looking to win for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2009.
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into sky tvstreaming service Now And the Sky Sports app is giving Sky Sports customers access to live sport up to 50 per cent more at no extra cost this year. Learn more here.
