2024-03-19 07:26:34
Rashid Khan bowled well in the previous match after returning from injury. But his team could not win. That mistake did not happen again in the second match. Another all-rounder, Mohammad Nabi, was on par with him in bat and ball. Afghanistan returned to parity after defeating Ireland by 10 runs in the second T20 of the three-match series.
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat at the Sharjah International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (March 17). Mark Adair and Josh Little bowled the Afghan batters with the ball. Afghans lost 4 wickets for 14 runs.
From there, Nabi handled the initial disaster with opener Sadiqullah Atal. The duo added 78 runs off 56 balls for the fifth wicket. This pair broke Sadiqullah’s run out by scoring 35 runs off 32 balls. After that, the Prophet also stopped when the group passed one hundred. He played an innings of 59 runs with 6 fours and 3 sixes before getting out.
Then Rashid Khan stormed towards the end. He came down as the ninth batsman and played an innings of 15 runs off 12 balls with 3 fours and 1 six. Afghanistan reached 152 runs in this small cameo.
Adair took three wickets for Ireland, Little and Barry McCarthy two each.
Andrew Balberney and Paul Stirling scored 43 runs in 4 overs in the run chase. But then they lost their way. Nangelia Kharote broke the pair of 49 runs by returning Sterling who scored 24 runs from 15 balls. After that they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Rashid came into the attack and returned Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector with two balls in a row. Nabi then dismissed the dangerous Curtis Camper. Keeping one end, Balbarni was finally dismissed for 45 off 44 balls by Kharot’s left-arm spin.
Rashid picked up two more wickets in his last over and lost 7 wickets for 95 runs and Ireland somehow crashed out of the match. Gareth Delaney fought alone in the end. His innings ended at 39 off 18 balls. With that, the Irish innings ended with 142 runs.