Afghanistan hammers Ireland in series decider
Ireland was outclassed by Afghanistan in Friday's ODI series decider in Belfast.
Published : Aug 31, 2018 22:54 IST
Afghanistan battered Ireland by eight wickets to clinch a 2-1 victory in the three-match ODI series in Belfast on Friday.
Ireland levelled the series with a three-wicket win on Wednesday, but Afghanistan skittled the host for a paltry 124 with Gary Wilson (23) top scoring for the home side in a poor showing with the bat.
The tourist needed just 23.5 overs to chase down that total, Ihsanullah's 57 not out doing the bulk of the damage.
Ireland's innings never had any legs, with Rashid Khan (3-18) - later named Player of the Series - taking the quickfire wickets of Kevin O'Brien and Simi Singh after Aftab Alam (2-22) and Gulbadin Naib (2-34) had seen to the top order.
Mohammad Shahzad (1) fell early in reply for Afghanistan, but Ireland's only hope was to play with an aggressive field and go for wickets.
It left Afghanistan with plenty of holes to exploit and Ihsanullah smacked two sixes and six fours as part of an unbeaten 74-run partnership with Hashmatullah Shahidi (34) en route to the easiest of wins.