Belfast: A thrilling victory for Ireland in the first match of the five-match Twenty20 series against Afghanistan. The hosts surpassed the target of 169 runs set by Afghanistan with one ball to spare. They won by losing only three wickets. Ireland won the first match with all the top batsmen performing well. Ireland has reached the winning way in the last seven T20Is and three ODIs played. Captain Andy Balbirnie, the top scorer with 51 runs off 38 balls, became the man of the match. Five fours and a six flew off the captain’s bat. Wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker, who scored 50 runs in 32 balls including six sixes and a four, also showed good batting. Opener Paul Sterling scored 31 runs off 29 balls and gave the team a good start with the captain. Coote had Jord Dockrell at the crease when Harry Tector, who scored 25 off 15 balls for Ireland, who needed 23 runs to win in the last two overs, struggled without leaving his presence of mind. Dockrell also contributed to the victory with 10 runs off five balls including two fours. Rashid Khan conceded 25 runs in four overs while Mujibur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq and Mohammad Nabi took a wicket each for Afghanistan.
Earlier, Afghanistan, who batted first, lost seven wickets and reached 168 runs. Opener Usman Ghani scored 59 runs off 42 balls as the top scorer. Ibrahim Zadran (29 not out from 18 balls) and Rahmatullah Gurbaz (26 from 22 balls) also shone.
Barry McCarthy who took three wickets and George Dockrell who took two wickets showed good performance in the bowling line of Ireland. Josh Little and Gareth Delaney shared a wicket each.
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