Kevin O Brien became the first centurion in Test cricket on the 4th day of their debut match against Pakistan played at Malahide, Dublin on 14th May 2018.
It was a historic moment for Irish Cricket as they stepped out on the field in Test matches for the first time. The first day of the Test match was washed out due to rain. On the 2nd day, Ireland captain William Porterfield won the toss and decided to field first.
Despite picking early wickets from Irish pacers, Faheem Ashraf 83, Asad Shafiq 62, Shadab Khan 55 helped Pakistan declare their innings on 310 for 9. The Ireland Team could not handle the pressure and were bowled out for just 130. Ireland ended the 3rd day on 64 for 0.
After Pakistan deciding to enforce follow on, the Irish openers did a better job as William Porterfield and Ed Joyce made a good start adding 69 runs for the opening wicket. Kevin O Brien came to the crease with the score reading 95 for 4. He looked cautious with his approach early. Brien made sure that Ireland went into lunch without losing any more wickets.
After the lunch break, Ireland kept losing wickets, but Brien showed his composure to reach his fifty off 100 balls. Brien and Stuart Thompson put the pressure back on the Pakistani bowling line up with 114 runs stand for the 7th wicket to give Ireland some hope. Brien then took the charge with positive stroke play and reached his maiden Test centurion off 186 balls. Ireland put up a strong reply as they ended day 4 on 319 for 7 with Brien remaining not out on 118.
Brien did not last on the final day as he was dismissed early for 118 off 217 balls. Making a Test century against top Test playing nation like Pakistan made it extremely sweet. Ireland was bowled out for 339 runs.
Tim Murtagh, Boyd Rankin broke the backbone of Pakistani top order reducing them to 14 for 3. Despite their efforts, Imam and Babar steadied the innings as Pakistan won the match by 5 wickets.
For his sensational 118 runs, Kevin O Brien was awarded the man of the match. Brien has been the backbone of the Ireland ODI team and produced some magical innings against top nations.
