Match Details

AFG vs IRE 3rd T20, AFG vs IRE 2024

IRE

98-1017.2

Afghanistan won by 57 runs 🏆

AFG

20.0155-7

Match info

Live

Scorecard

Player of the Match

Ibrahim Zadran

Afghanistan

72(51)

IRE - 2nd Innings

Session	Open	PASS
6 Over	44	36
10 Over	64	46
15 Over	78	91

AFG - 1st Innings

Session	Open	PASS
6 Over	45	41
10 Over	71	63
15 Over	102	108
20 Over	158	155

Commentary

So Afghanistan come from behind to win this hard-fought T20I series against Ireland 201 and their players are rightly celebrating with the trophy. They will be a force to reckon with in the upcoming T20 World Cup. The Irish won't be pushovers either. So that's gonna do it for today. It is time for me, Sourya Chowdhury, to bid you goodnight on behalf of me as well as my fellow commentators Saipavan Janaki, Gourav Samal and our scorer/analyst Paras Yadav. See you soon.

Rashid Khan (Afghanistan Captain and Player of the Series): I'm so happy to be on the winning side, winning the series. And yeah, I think it was a bit tough for me to come back after three, four months and perform a game as I was doing. But it was a kind of fresh start for me. Just tried my best to enjoy my cricket. And yeah, it is a great win, a series win for us, especially the youngsters. You know, they came out, they observed the pressure inside, and they delivered as well. Wherever they got the opportunity they delivered their performance, especially the senior players like Nabi, Azmat, and Naveen. They stood up and they performed for the team, so I'm so happy for them.

Cricket is all about the enjoyment. I think the more you enjoy, the better you perform in the game. That's how you have to give a kind of free hand to all the youngsters. Just go there, express your talent, express your skills. And the skills which brought you here, you just need to bring that skill into the middle as well. And especially Sediqullah, Ishaq, Ahmadzai, and Nangyal, the way they came under pressure, they performed there. I think I'm so happy, and in the future, I'm very proud of Afghanistan cricket.

(About the World Cup) I believe we have come a long way. Over the past one and a half to two years, since I took on the role of captain, our focus has been on preparing for the upcoming World Cup. The preparations have proceeded smoothly thus far. We have diligently done our homework. With only two months remaining, it is essential that we address any areas where we are encountering difficulties and ensure that we are fully prepared, both mentally and physically, to compete on the global stage.

Paul Stirling (Ireland captain): "Yes we were slightly off the pace, beaten by the better side. A bit disappointing end but there were some great performances from our side throughout. Especially our bowlers. Like Ben White coming back from injury and getting the wickets in the first T20I. Zadran's innings was great, this total was probably a bit too much. We are striving for consistency look at our team combinations before the T20 World Cup. It has been a great series especially our first Test win."

Ibrahim Zadran (Player of the Match): " I am very happy with my performance today. I didn't play well in the first two matches. My side especially, I wanted to play well today any cost. It's quite tough to play all three formats, but I try to adjust with each format as quickly as I can possible. I try to enjoy and adjust quickly. We don't have any series before the World Cup (T20). We will try to get prepared for that and try to think where we should improve."

Stylish player of the match: Azmatullah Omarzai.

01.14 AM IST and 11:44 PM Local Time: Time for the post match presentations.

Naveen Ul-Haq: Coming into the season, I was feeling well, but the first game didn't go my way. But as soon as the second game started, I told our coach that I'll be much better in the second game. So was today. It was a good game, and we needed some early breaks to hold them back during the power play. I have been playing a lot of T20 cricket and it is a good preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup and also IPL is one of the best league in the world and almost 7-8 players from our team are in that league and it will be nice to have that experience. I liked my second wicket more, as I planned it with Rashid and luckily also got the breakthrough.

12:57am IST and 11:27pm Local Time: Sourya: Afghanistan have claimed a fine victory in this crucial third T20 by 57 runs to claim a great series victory over bitter rivals Ireland 2-1 that will put them in good stead with the T20 World Cup hovering close.

Chasing a challenging 156 for victory, the Irish were rocked back early in their chase, with Naveen ul Haq (3/10) breathing fire and picking up two wickets in two balls in the second over. Those hammer blows were ones from which the visitors never recovered, as they kept on losing wickets at regular junctures trying to up the scoring rate as they fell behind the asking rate and entered a vicious cycle from which they never recovered.

The biggest gainer in the melee was the medium pacer Azmatullah Omarzai, who kept things tidy and ended up picking astounding figures of 4/9 from his four. He picked up the big wicket of Harry Tector, who was probably Ireland’s biggest hope. Skipper Rashid Khan was as usual brilliant, mixing up his leg-spinners and googlies to further stifle the scoring and pick up figures of 1/12.

Only Curtis Campher (28 off 23) got a start but did not kick on, as the Irish were all out for 98, with the hosts being in command with the ball.

Earlier, Rashid won a vital toss and took their time to settle in, but a fine responsible innings from Ibrahim Zadran (72 off 51), who survived an early reprieve, propelled them. Zadran timed the ball well from the beginning, and used the long handle to perfection when needed.

He formed a vital partnership with keeper-batter Mohammad Ishaq to take them to a position from where they managed a competitive total of 155/7.

For the Irish, Joshua Little had the best figures of 1/27 as all their six bowlers picked up a wicket, but in the end some indifferent fielding and profligate bowling cost them the match.

Afghanistan clinches the series 2-1 with a stunning 57-run victory, showcasing their dominance! 🏆 Ireland fought valiantly, but Afghanistan's triumph is a testament to their prowess on the field. 🏏🎉

Out

B White

1(4)

b N ul

4s/6s

0/0

25.00

17.2 N ul to B White

W Naveen picks the last one. Afghanistan win the match and take the series 2-1. Naveen pitches on good length on off, a slower one, White shuffles to left and looks to play it towards leg and gets beaten with the pace. Ball hits the stumps and that's it for the match.

17.1 N ul to J Little

1lb Short of a length delivery, over the off stump line, Little goes for the pull but misses it and gets it on his body for a single, leg bye.

Naveen is back into the attack now.

OVER 17

Ireland

97/9

Ben White

1(3)

Joshua Little

2(3)

Rashid Khan

1-12(4.0)

16.6 R Khan to J Little

1 Flighted delivery on the middle and leg stump, Little gets down and sweeps to deep midwicket for one.

16.5 R Khan to B White

1 Slightly faster through the air, White pushes it towards square leg for a single.

16.4 R Khan to J Little

1 Length on off, Little looks to push it on off side and gets an edge towards mid-wicket for a single.

16.3 R Khan to B White

1lb Flighted outside off, White moves right on the crease to sweep it towards square leg. Gets an edge towards short leg for a single through leg bye.

16.2 R Khan to B White

0 Flighted on the off, angling away, White gets onto his front foot to defend back on the pitch.