Clinical Afghanistan outbat Ireland in series opener

While Ireland can no longer be called a minnow nation for the massive inroads they have made in recent times, Afghanistan have been no lesser in gaining quick respect either. Thus, this made the three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series far more interesting, with the latter trying to prove that their graph has seen a more prominent rise. At the mid-innings break, Ireland had achieved a challenging score of 165, a score that was seemingly tough for Afghanistan to achieve. But by the end of the game, the Asian team had cantered home without any hiccups, going 1-0 up in the series.

On Wednesday (March 8), William Porterfield won the toss and chose to bat first at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, and his decision stood vindicated when Stuart Thompson fired on all cylinders, en route his maiden T20I fifty off just 31 balls. Opening alongside him, Paul Stirling tried to upset Amir Hamza in the first over, but his attempted sweep didn't connect as the ball clattered into the stumps. The skipper joined Thompson at the crease, and together they took on the bowling, as if completely unperturbed by the fall of an early wicket. While Porterfield himself blazed away at a strike rate of 130, Thompson was even more devastating with six boundaries and two sixes in his innings.

The sixth over was the most damaging when the duo went ballistic as they carted three fours and a six off Mohammad Nabi. Thompson hardly took his foot off the pedal and hit a gigantic six to raise his maiden fifty of the format, in the ninth over,. However, just when the southpaw would have liked to raise the bar further, he miscued a pick-up shot to long on to perish in the following over. Porterfield didn't last long after that, and in a manic run-out where a misfield led to two direct hits, the skipper was short of his ground. Kevin O'Brien fell prey to Rashid Khan as Afghanistan started to stage a comeback.

Gary Wilson took the mantle on himself and along with Lorcan Tucker, hit five boundaries between them, along with a six, to propel Ireland to 165 for 5 in their 20 overs.

Chasing 166 to win, Afghanistan were always hinging their hopes on their dasher at the top of the order, Mohammad Shahzad, and he responded promptly, stitching a fine fifty-run partnership for the first wicket with Najeeb Tarakai. Although, Shahzad's explosion was the one that the Irish feared, Tarakai caught them offguard with three boundaries and two sixes inside the first five overs. Tarakai fell to O'Brien for 27 but the damage had been done by then.

Samiullah Shenwari announced himself with three boundaries in the first over, and there was no looking back as Afghanistan piled on the heat on the Irishmen. Shahzad was handed a reprieve by the big man, O'Brien, who failed to hold on to a regulation chance at long on in the eighth over, with the Afghan opener on just 28. Despite a few bowling changes, Afghanistan looked largely unruffled.

Only three short of a fifty, Mohammad Shahzad finally paid the price for some sloppy running throughout the innings. In the 14th over, while going for a single, he paused in the middle and was caught short of his crease by the throw from mid on. Shenwari, though, ensured that all was well as he continued to pick the boundaries at will, before taking a single to bring up his half-century.

With 34 needed off the final five, Asghar Stanikzai came out scathing on O'Brien to spoil the Irishman's day further, as he hit him for two fours and a six in one over. The over also included five wides and a four from Shenwari, giving Afghanistan 27 runs from it. Shenwari and Nabi, who came in to replace him, fell in back-to-back overs in a rather anti-climatic manner, but Shafiqullah hit a six off the final ball of the 18th over to seal the fate of the game in the favour of Afghanistan, with six wickets in hand.

Brief Scores: Ireland 165/5 in 20 overs (Stuart Thompson 56, Gary Wilson 41*; Amir Hamza 2-23) lost to Afghanistan 171/4 in 18 overs (Samiullah Shenwari 56, Mohammad Shahzad 47; Stuart Thompson 1-17) by six wickets.