AFGHANISTAN V IRELAND IN UAE

Live Cricket Score of Afghanistan vs Ireland, 1st ODI

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Live Score Updates Ireland 100-10 (31.4 Ovs) Stuart Poynter 27 (42) Afghanistan 238-9 Rashid Khan 6.4-0-28-3 Afghanistan won by 138 runs Live Scores Full Scorecard

Rashid struck a crucial 48 to guide Afghanistan to 238. © Getty

Credit to Rashid

Even though Mujeeb will hog all the limelight tonight, Rashid deserves special praise as well. What a little champion he is turning out to be. His side were in deep trouble with the bat before he came on to knock off some vital runs to give his side a fighting chance. And boy, wasn't that enough? It turned out to be more than enough as he also contributed with the ball with three wickets. Ireland have a lot of homework to do now. They will be reviewing their shot selection but more importantly they have to quickly learn to read the rookie before the next game else a similar result beckons.

Afghanistan deliver crushing blow

There's the final wicket. Rashid cleans up the innings as Murtagh falls to become the leggie's third victim. The debutant Mujeeb finishes with four wickets but boy hasn't he made an impact? Afghanistan take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Porterfield falls

The captain finally falls. He has had enough. He has to take on the bowlers to give his side a fighting chance. He sees Nabi bowl one short, goes for the pull but is caught by Naib at deep backward square leg.

Absolutely!

Rashid strikes

How can you keep him out of the game? He is a rockstar! With Mujeeb grabbing all the headlines, Rashid wants some wickets for himself as well. In his second over, he takes out Simi Singh with a flipper as the batsman is trapped lbw. This chase is over! Just mere formalities left now as Porterfield watches in horror.

Another wrong'un

He is on a roll! It's Kevin's turn now to fall for the googly. The middle stump has gone for a toss. Ireland have lost half their side now.

Wilson departs

The teenager is having a blast! What a debut this is turning out to be. Ireland are in tatters. They are 21 for 4 now as Wilson attempts a sweep and is bowled down the leg side. Kevin O'Brien has entered the fray. Will he go after the bowling?

Ireland crumble

Well, they are falling like nine pins aren't they? It's now the turn of Niall O'Brien to go back to the pavilion without making a significant contribution. Poor Porterfield is watching this carnage unfold from the other end. Niall tries to glance one on his hips but manages to only get a leading edge which is pouched at short mid-wicket by Javed Ahmadi. Dawlat Zadran with the wicket as Gary Wilson walks out. Big partnership needed.

Ireland stutter early

Well, Ireland are struggling early in the chase. They have made only six runs in the first five overs and to make matters worse, they have lost aggressive opening batsman Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie. Afghanistan introduced Mujeeb Zadran early into the attack by asking him to bowl with the second new ball and the move is working wonders. He first got rid of Stirling with a wrong one that trapped him lbw and then he goes through the defence of Balbirnie with another wrong one. Wow, he is just 16 years old and is spinning a web around the Irish batting line up.

Shafiqullah, Rashid lift Afghanistan to 238

After Naib's dismissal, Shafiqullah Shafiq cracked meaty blows to crunch a vital 23-ball 36 to lift the sagging spirits of the camp. The highlight of his innings was the way he cleared his front leg to hammer Rankin for a six that not just cleared the deep square leg fence but went out of the stadium! Rashid played an assured hand at the other end to compose a fine 49-ball 48. He is certainly the fulcrum of the home team's line-up.

Can Ireland chase down a target of 239 under lights? Will the dew factor help them to tackle Rashid's bagful of tricks? We will be back in a few minutes time with all the action.

Rashid, Naib enact rescue act

Rashid and Naib tonked a few shots to ensure a timely recovery for Afghanistan. Remember, Rashid had shone brightly with both the bat and ball in the ODI series payed versus Ireland earlier this year.

Rankin puts Ireland on top

Rankin followed up Murtagh by dismissing Rahmat by tempting him to edge one. The big man got enough bounce to produce the edge. Ireland are right back in it now.

He followed it by sending the captain, Stanikzai, back to the hut. In between Nabi, the former captain, was run out on the back of a terrible mix-up. The hosts are in trouble.

Murtagh breaks threatening stand

Murtagh, the Middlesex pacer, used his wisdom of experience to dismiss the dangerous Jamal. Jamal tried to loft Murtagh but could only lift it to the fielder at long on. Ireland needed that wicket as they were looking a bit flat.

Rahmat and powerful blows

Rahmat decided to up the tempo by thumping Simi Singh's floaty spin into the stands. Huge sixes! The Afghans can give it a mighty thump. Powerful boys. At the other end, Jamal completed an assured fifty. The duo has resurrected the innings.

Tough chances goes down

The man at midwicket dives forward but puts down a rather tough opportunity. Rankin the unlucky man and Jamal gets the reprieve.

Rahmat, Jamal stitch crucial stand

The duo of Rahmat and Jamal tried to calm things down with a 50-run unbeaten stand for the third wicket. The pair mainly looked to collect singles and twos to keep the scorecard ticking over.

Meaty blow

Nasir Jamal decided to take on Ireland's bowlers by tonking Kevin O'Brien for a boundary to deep midwicket. Afghanistan needed that four as Ireland were squeezing the home side with disciplined bowling.

Rankin makes it two

Rankin, the giant Warwickshire pacer, has now snuffed out Ihsanullah with a back of a length ball that cut away to eke out the edge. Ireland in the ascendancy right right now.

Murtagh makes incision

Tim Murtagh, the experienced medium pacer, prised out Javed Ahmadi with a short delivery. Ahmadi tried to pull but could only eke out a top edge back to the bowler. Teams have used that tactic against Afghanistan before. Interestingly, Dockrell, the left arm spinner, is bowling from the other end.

Teams:

Ireland (Playing XI): William Porterfield(c), Paul Stirling, Niall O'Brien(w), Simi Singh, Kevin O'Brien, Gary Wilson, Stuart Poynter, George Dockrell, Boyd Rankin, Andrew Balbirnie, Tim Murtagh

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Javed Ahmadi, Ihsanullah Janat, Asghar Stanikzai(c), Nasir Jamal, Rahmat Shah, Shafiqullah Shafiq(w), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Dawlat Zadran, Mujeeb Zadran

Update

Ireland have won the toss and opted to field. Maybe they believe as it is a D/N encounter, it could get easier to bat second time around.

Build Up

Over a period of time, when Ireland have met Afghanistan, it has evoked a mosaic of emotions from fans and players of both sides. If we take a trip down the memory lane, it was Afghanistan's hard-fought 22-run win against Ireland in a World Cup Qualifier game in Krugersdorp in 2010 that had sowed the seeds for the rivalry between the Associate countries to thrive. In the first five One-Day Internationals the two teams played, Ireland won two and Afghanistan emerged victorious once while two matches were abandoned.

However, with time Afghanistan have taken bigger strides in the cricketing world and have earned a slight edge in their rivalry. In the ODI series played between the two sides earlier this year, Afghanistan edged Ireland by a 3-2 margin. In February 2017, Afghanistan also won their Intercontinental Cup game between the two sides.

The William Porterfield-led Ireland side will look to pull one series back when they lock horns against the Asian country in the three-match ODI series, commencing on Tuesday (December 5) in Sharjah. Ireland, though, will miss the services of Ed Joyce, the mainstay of the line-up, due to a knee injury.

The European side will depend on Porterfield, Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie and Kevin O'Brien to make an impact with the bat. Among the bowlers, Boyd Rankin, Peter Chase, Tim Murtagh and George Dockrell will be expected to fire.

Afghanistan, their opponents, will hope for Gulbadin Naib, Javed Ahmadi, Asghar Stanikzai and Rahmat Shah to perform on the batting front. In the bowling department, Rashid will again be the trump card. With his well disguised googly, he befuddled the Ireland batsmen in the ODI rubber played in India, bagging a rich haul of 16 scalps. The two newest entrants into Test cricket will also look to gain some momentum before the ICC World Cup Qualifiers to be played in Zimbabwe in March 2018.

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