Ireland 170-7 (20 overs)

Curtis Campher 54 (41), Mark Adair 34 (21); Muhammad Arfan 2-23

United Arab Emirates 140-8 (20 overs)

Aryansh Sharma 54 (40) Muhammad Arfan 26* (12); George Dockrell 2-12 

Records fell as Ireland found top gear at just the right time, completing a dominant clean sweep of the UAE at their home venue, the Dubai Cricket Stadium, to clinch yet another series win in 2026.

Paul Stirling surpassed T20 World Cup–winning captain Rohit Sharma to become the most-capped player in T20 Internationals, moving to 161 appearances ahead of Sharma’s 159, while also scoring enough runs to overtake England great Jos Buttler as the fourth-highest run-scorer in the format.

Curtis Campher scored a crucial half century scoring 54* from 42 deliveries while putting up an unbeaten 69-run stand with Mark Adair 34* to get Ireland to 170 runs

The five matches Ireland have played in preparation for the marquee tournament will help build rhythm and their successful results already show the great promise the team has. 

Matthew Humphreys, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany and Mark were among the wickets.

Lorcan Tucker was electric behind the stumps, claiming three stumpings as the UAE finished 30 runs short of the target.

Ireland will look to carry over this form as they travel to Sri Lanka where they are scheduled to play a singular warm-up game against Pakistan before beginning their campaign against the co-hosts Sri Lanka on 8 February, Sunday in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

1st match scorecard

Ireland 178-6 (20 overs)

Ross Adair 39 (29), Lorcan Tucker 38 (25); Haider Ali 2-31

United Arab Emirates 121 all out (19.5 overs)

Muhammad Waseem 40 (37), Aryansh Sharma 23 (17); Gareth Delaney 3-26

Ireland won by 57 runs