Afghanistan rode on Rashid Khan’s brilliance with the ball and Ibrahim Zadran’s attacking display with the bat to clinch the AFG vs IRE T20I series 2-1 when they won the AFG vs IRE 3rd T20I by 57 runs. Afghanistan put up a total of 155 runs in the series decider and restricted Ireland to just 98 runs to seal the tie in their favour.
The T20I series was important for Afghanistan because it marked the comeback of star spinner Rashid Khan after the back injury. Afghanistan won the toss in the series deciding tie and elected to bat first. Although openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sediqullah Atal could not provide Afghanistan with the ideal start, number 3 batter Ibrahim Zadran more than made up for it.
Zadran played a blinder of an innings scoring 72 runs off 51 balls with the help of five 4s and three 6s. He was ably assisted by wicketkeeper Mohammad Ishaq who scored 27 runs off 22 balls. These two helped Afghanistan reach a respectable total of 155 runs on the board.
Chasing 156, the Irish batters kept losing wickets from the start and ultimately could not recover from the set back. Rashid Khan wasn’t at his best wicket-taking capabilities. The Afghanistan captain only managed to take a wicket but conceded only 12 runs in his spell. However, Azmatullah Omarzai made sure the Irish fell short of their target by taking a 4-wicket haul. Naveen-ul-Haq also picked up three wickets as the Irish resistance came crushing down within a small amount of time.
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The match marks the end of the AFG vs IRE series. Many players from the Afghanistan squad will now head to their respective Indian Premier League teams.
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