A sell-out crowd gathered in the quaint Clontarf ground.
Ed Joyce made a superbly classy century that bailed out the openers.
Tim Murtagh took his first two wickets in ODIs in a superb opening spell.
Ireland were left to rue what might have been when Wahab Riaz went beserk.
So, the series went to Pakistan 1-0, but Ireland finished with a great deal of pride, and their reputations enhanced. Also notable was their discipline in the field. In Pakistan's entire run-chase, there was only one dropped catch - a sharp chance to Stirling at slip, and misfields were also nearly non-existent. With slightly more luck, it could easily have been a 2-0 home victory, and the odds on that would have been long.