Ireland began their three-match Twenty20 international series against the United Arab Emirates with a 57-run win over the hosts in Dubai. It was a return to winning ways for Ireland, who lost the final match of a 2-1 series win against Italy on Monday as they continue their preparations for their opening T20 World Cup match against Sri Lanka in Colombo on 8 February. The hosts began their chase brightly with captain Muhammad Waseem and Aryansh Sharma building a solid partnership before Delany made the first breakthrough when removing wicketkeeper Sharma for 23. Delany and Matthew Humphreys took three wickets apiece and Barry McCarthy two, removing Arfan with the hosts all out for 121. The teams will meet in the second and final match of the series at the same venue on Saturday (14:00 GMT).