Afghanistan 299 for 8 (Ibrahim 84, Atal 45, Shahidi 36*, Adair 2-40) beat Ireland 207 (Carmichael 62, Balbirnie 36, Rashid 6-34) by 92 runs
Ireland’s slide started with Lorcan Tucker’s freak dismissal. The game was reduced to 47 overs a side due to a wet outfield, and Ireland required another 156 runs from 137 balls with seven wickets in hand. That’s when Mohammed Saleem appealed for an lbw dismissal against Tucker and was turned down. But with Tucker attempting a run, Sediqullah Atal, though, who was at point, caught the batter short with his direct hit. Tucker was eventually run out, and his wicket began a collapse as Afghanistan won by 92 runs.
Ireland rebuilt through Carmichael and Tucker, before their 38-run stand ended with the run-out.
By then, though, Carmichael had raised his maiden ODI fifty off just 44 balls. While he scored all around the ground, his preferred areas for picking the boundaries remained behind square on both the off and the leg side. Leading Ireland’s chase until his dismissal, he fell for 62 off 66 deliveries in the 26th over when he looked to use the pace and bounce on offer from Azmatullah Omarzai. Saleem, at deep third, moved swiftly to his left to catch the ball near the edge of the boundary.
Curtis Campher and debutant Ben Calitz kept Ireland in the contest with a rapid 46-run stand for the sixth wicket. But Rashid ended Calitz’s blitz on 27 off 15 balls, and wrapped up the tail to seal victory as Afghanistan’s total of 299 proved more than enough.
On what was a cloudy and windy day, Ireland had asked Afghanistan to bat first after a wet outfield delayed the toss by one-and-a-half hours. Rahmanullah Gurbaz then brought debutant left-arm quick Jai Moondra back to earth after he had a dream start to international cricket in the T20Is against India. Gurbaz smashed Moondra for five fours and a six off the latter’s first 14 balls – that included the entire gamut of the heave, the slash, the inside-out loft, and a six and four each down the ground. But Gurbaz’s party ended on 32 off 30 balls when he swung too hard at Moondra, and was caught at mid-on.
Even new batter Atal attacked Moondra, whose first spell ended with figures of 5-0-48-1. The scoreboard kept ticking along and the boundaries kept flowing for Atal and Ibrahim Zadran, who raised his fifty in the 19th over. He slog-swept Tector onto the roof over the midwicket boundary and drove one down for four to start the 25th over, but two balls later, Tector bowled Atal for 45 to break a 116-run partnership.
Ireland slowed Afghanistan down with that wicket. New captain Rahmat Shah managed just seven runs off his first 18 balls, before flipping the script. His next eight balls included four boundaries even as Zadran chipped one to mid-off on 84. But Omarzai and Hashmatullah Shahidi didn’t let it slip for Afghanistan. They helped thrash 95 runs off the last 11 overs.
Omarzai pasted Moondra for two boundaries in the 37th over, and lofted Gavin Hoey for an effortless six in the 38th. He then went after Campher in the 40th over, swatting and punching him for six and four, respectively. Moondra got Omarzai for 33 off 24 balls, although with no DRS, the batter walked back frustrated after having a word with the umpire who gave him out caught behind.
But Afghanistan still had Shahidi left. Batting at No. 7 for the first time in his ODI career, he thumped an unbeaten 36 off 21 balls to play the perfect finisher. He ramped Moondra for six – the bowler finished with 2 for 78 in nine overs – and plucked two boundaries each off Mark Adair and debutant Byron McDonough despite wickets falling around him.
Shahidi’s cameo had propelled Afghanistan to a big total, one that proved too much for Ireland.
Himanshu Agrawal is a sub-editor at Cricinfo
