Match Centre
Scorecard Summary
AFGHANISTAN 189/5 (20 OVERS)
- Najibullah Zadran42 (18)
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz53 (35)
- Josh Little2/29 (4)
- Fionn Hand1/29 (3)
IRELAND 167/9 (20 OVERS)
- George Dockrell*58 (37)
- Fionn Hand36 (18)
- Naveen-ul-Haq3/38 (4)
- Fazalhaq Farooqi2/11 (2)
Scorer: K Vairavan | Commentator: Hemant Brar
END OF OVER:20 | 5 Runs | IRE: 167/9 (23 runs required, RR: 8.35)
- George Dockrell58 (37b)
- Josh Little0 (0b)
- Azmatullah Omarzai2-0-13-0
- Naveen-ul-Haq4-0-38-3
That's all from our side for this game. See you soon.
Mohammad Nabi: Our openers gave us a good start and we could put on a good total. The way we had planned in the morning, we had one or two good partnerships and finished well. We put a good total on the board and put the Ireland team under pressure. Early wickets are more important and our bowlers bowled brilliantly in the first six overs. It was a much better performance today, we performed as a team. We will try our best and hopefully will win the remaining two games as well.
Andy Balbirnie: Our batting let us down, we didn't do well in the powerplay. It was pleasing to see the fight at the back end with George taking us to the touching distance. He [Hand] seems to make things happen in the middle, be it with bat or bowl. George is very important player for us in all formats. We are 2-1 up but we really want to win the series. We will try to do that on Monday.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz is the Player of the Match. "It was a very important match for us after losing two games," he says. "My performance wasn't good but coach and captain asked me to spend some time in the middle. Hazratullah Zazai's comeback was really important. I feel really relaxed batting with him. We have now adjusted to the weather and pitches and will try to win the remaining two games as well."
Time for the presentation ceremony. Who is your Player of the Match?
Hamed : "Has Farooqi got injured? Why he did not complete 4 overs?" --- I am not sure, maybe Nabi wanted to see how Omarzai fares.
7.00pm A 22-run win for Afghanistan as they keep the five-match series alive. It was set up by their batters - Rahmanullah Gurbaz struck a fifty, Ibrahim Zadran played a cameo to keep the momentum going, and Najibullah Zadran ensured a strong finish. Then their bowlers reduced Ireland to 85 for 7 in the 13th over. George Dockrell (58* off 37), though, didn't give up. Along with debutant Fionn Hand (36 off 18) he took Ireland close but with 28 needed from the final over, it was too tall a task for him. Rashid Khan, however, went wicketless for the third game in a row. Before this series, he had never been wicketless on two successive T20Is. Apart from that, Afghanistan had a mixed day in the field. They took some stunning catches but also misfielded a lot.
24 needed from four balls
Match Coverage
All Match NewsBowlers, Gurbaz, Najibullah star in Afghanistan's win
They overcame a 74-run stand for the eighth wicket between Dockrell and Hand to keep the series alive