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A disciplined display of bowling from Mujeeb Ur Rahman helped Afghanistan to a five-wicket win over Ireland in the first ODI of the five-match series.
The teenage spinner collected miserly figures of 3-14 from his 10 overs to help bowl Ireland out for 161, with Paul Stirling carrying much of the batting load for the Irish with a patient 89.

While Ireland fought hard with the ball – Simi Singh displayed exceptional control with figures of 1-19 from his 10 overs – a 61-ball 46 from Gulbadin Naib helped Afghanistan to a comfortable victory.

Mujeeb took the new ball alongside Dawlat Zadran for Afghanistan after William Porterfield won the toss and elected to bat. The Ireland captain didn’t enjoy much fortune with the bat however, as Mujeeb struck in his very first over – Porterfield’s stumps were dismantled, an inside edge off the bat contributing to his downfall.

While Zadran was economical in his opening spell, Mujeeb’s efforts were something else. His first three overs conceded no runs, with the wicket of the Ireland captain in his bag to boot. Andrew Balbirnie finally broke the stranglehold with a sweep for two in Mujeeb’s fourth over. It didn’t alter Afghanistan’s momentum however, as Balbirnie was trapped LBW in the same over.

The next man in was debutant James McCollum, however Mujeeb took no respite on the international newbie, deceiving the batsman first ball with a googly to have the umpire’s finger go up again for LBW.

Image: Mujeeb bowls to Andrew Balbirnie

Kevin O’Brien joined the watchful Stirling at the crease but he could only muster 10, while Simi Singh fell victim to Mohammad Nabi on the last ball of the 25th over, as Ireland entered the halfway stage at 55-5.

Stuart Poynter’s stay wouldn’t last too long either, and with Ireland 69-6 after 30.2 overs, a total of even 150 looked distant. With George Dockrell at the crease however, Stirling finally found a partner able to grind the Afghan bowling attack down.

Stirling’s fifty arrived with a cut for four of Rahmat Shah’s bowling, his patience reflected by the landmark being reached from 107 balls – an unusual sight to see from the typically aggressive Ireland opener.

Both batsmen looked intent on surviving Mujeeb’s spell, and it was the completion the spinner’s ten overs that allowed for some much-needed breathing space. Mohammad Nabi came in for some heavy blows at the hands of the Ireland pair, with his final over conceding 13 runs – Dockrell found the long-on boundary for four, while Stirling collected a maximum over midwicket.

A sweep for four off the first ball of Rashid Khan’s ninth over from Dockrell could have signalled a grandstand finish for Ireland after a torrid first half to their innings, but the leg-spinner responded with the wicket of Dockrell three deliveries later, Ireland’s No. 8 dismissed after a fighting 47-ball 37. It brought an end to Ireland’s record seventh-wicket partnership in ODIs, with the pair putting on 76 from 92 balls.

Barry McCarthy and Tim Murtagh departed without scoring but, aided by a first-ball four from Boyd Rankin, 13 runs were taken from the penultimate over of the innings. The unusual dismissal of Stirling brought proceedings to a close soon after – with the batsman making room for himself on the leg-side by walking across his stumps only to see his stumps splayed as Gulbadin went full and straight.

Stirling’s knock was hugely valuable for Ireland – he scored 55.30 per cent of their runs, the second highest proportion for Ireland in a completed ODI innings.

Despite the return of batting supremo Mohammad Shahzad, Harzratullah Zazai took control of the run-chase to begin with for Afghanistan. Murtagh was treated to a six over long-on in his second over, before conceding consecutive boundaries in his third.

The impressive off-spin of Singh, alongside the bustling McCarthy, saw Ireland tighten the screws on the run rate, and the patience of the bowlers was rewarded with the wicket of Hazratullah as O’Brien took a well-judged effort at long-on – stepping back in and out the boundary with a nonchalant juggling effort.

Shahzad found his feet in accompaniment with Rahmat Shah, and hit six boundaries on his way to 43 before he went for one big shot too many, the extra bounce of Boyd Rankin seeing the right-hander offer a catch to Murtagh running back from mid-off.

It kickstarted an Irish resurgence as Rankin struck in his next over, Rahmat’s half-hearted pull shot landing in the hands of Singh at deep square-leg. Hashmatullah Shahidi looked nervy in his innings of nine, and fell victim to Singh who found turn to catch the left-hander’s edge, with Poynter doing the rest of the work behind the stumps. Singh’s spell was Ireland’s joint-third least expensive ten-over ODI spell, as he proved too hot to handle for Afghanistan.

A stretch of 13 overs for 24 runs saw the required run rate just creep above Afghanistan’s actual run rate, but Gulbadin released the building pressure with three boundaries off of McCarthy’s eighth over.

While Gulbadin offered a return catch to George Dockrell with nine runs still left to chase, any prospect of a tense finish was disrupted by two big swings for six from Najibullah Zadran to end the game and give Afghanistan the series lead.

Scorecard

Afghanistan v Ireland, One-Day International, 28 February 2019, Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun

Ireland 161 (49.2 overs; Stirling 89, Dockrell 37; Mujeeb 3-14, Zadran 3-35)
Afghanistan 165-5 (41.5 overs; Gulbadin 46, Shahzad 43; Rankin 2-48)

Afghanistan won by 5 wickets with 49 balls remaining

A full scorecard is available here.

Taha Hashim, Wisden
Paul Stirling (left) made a patient 89 and held the Irish innings together
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Connaught