KABUL, Afghanistan — If ever a team needed to win big for its fans’ sake, it was this one — at this moment.

On Monday, Afghanistan’s beloved national cricket squad prompted cheers back home by winning its first-ever match in the Test format, the sport’s highest level of competition.

The win, against Ireland at a Test match in northern India, is an increasingly rare commodity: a good news story in Afghanistan. Security forces there are fighting a desperate, bloody campaign against the Taliban, and many fear that if the United States reaches a deal with the insurgents, it could jeopardize human rights and the safety of ethnic minority groups.

“People are in love with cricket, and amid the news of suicide attacks, bombing of civilians and losses of security forces, it is the only thing that brings happiness,” said Nazim Jar Abdurrahimzai, the game development manager at the Afghanistan Cricket Board.