- Atal-Jadran dominated the field
- Afghanistan's resounding win over Ireland
- 3-0 lead in the series
Afghanistan have taken a 3-0 lead in the ongoing five-match ODI series against Ireland. The fourth match in Malk was played on 12 August. In this match, Afghanistan batted first and built a mountain of 343 runs. In reply, Ireland were bowled out for 301 runs. Afghanistan won the match by 42 runs and bagged the series. The final match of the series will be played on August 15.
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Atal-Jadran's brilliant centuries
After losing the toss and electing to bat first, Afghanistan got off to a poor start. Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed for 12 runs. Ibrahim Jadran and Sediqullah Atal then recovered the innings and put pressure on the Irish bowlers. The duo put on a record partnership of 231 runs off 220 balls for the second wicket. This is Afghanistan's highest partnership for the second wicket. Also, this is the highest partnership for the second wicket between Afghanistan and Ireland in ODIs.
Ibrahim Jadran batted brilliantly with 11 fours and a six as he scored 107 runs off 118 balls. Sedikulla Atal batted even more aggressively and scored 143 runs off 120 balls. His storming innings included 17 fours and four sixes. The partnership between Atal and Jadran is Afghanistan's third highest partnership for any wicket in the 50-over format. Not only this, it is only the fourth time in Afghanistan's ODI history that two batsmen have scored centuries in the same match.
Afghanistan's innings stumbled in the last overs
After the dismissal of Atal and Jadran, the pace of Afghanistan's innings slowed down a bit. Darwish Rasooli scored 24 off 14 balls, while Azmatullah Umarzai was dismissed for 15 off 12 balls. Captain Rahmat Shah could score only 2 runs. Rashid Khan scored 11 runs off 10 balls, while Hashamtullah Shahidi remained unbeaten on 7 runs. Ghazanfar could not open the account. Afghanistan lost three wickets in the last two overs, preventing the team from crossing the 350-run mark. Byron McDonough took three wickets for Ireland, while Mark Richard Adair and Gavin Hoey took two each.
Afghanistan's resounding win over Ireland
In the match played in Belfast, Ireland got off to a good start. Opener Andrew Balberney scored a century. He scored 109 runs off 119 balls. Captain Paul Stirling scored 27 runs. Curtis Kampfer, who came in to bat at number five, missed out on a century. He scored a blistering knock of 84 runs off 46 balls. However, as soon as he was dismissed, the entire team collapsed. For Afghanistan, Yamin Ahmadzai took 4 wickets while Rashid Khan took 3 wickets. Azmatullah Omarzai took 2 wickets. With this, Afghanistan won a resounding victory over Ireland.
A chance for Ireland to save dignity in the last game
All the matches of the series will be played in Belfast. The first match of the series was drawn due to rain, but Afghanistan troubled Ireland in the second and third matches. They won the second match by 98 runs and the third match by three wickets. Now, they have bagged the series by winning the fourth match. Now, on August 15, Ireland will have one last chance to salvage its reputation.
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