Ireland succumb to series defeat at hands of Afghanistan

Hosts batted first, for the first time in the series, but struggled to build any momentum

Afghanistan players celebrate during their series win over Ireland at Stormont. Photo: Rowland White /Inpho
Afghanistan players celebrate during their series win over Ireland at Stormont. Photo: Rowland White /Inpho

Afghanistan beat Ireland by eight wickets in the final one-day international at Stormont on Friday to win the series 2-1.

The hosts batted first, for the first time in the series, but struggled to build any momentum and lost wickets at regular intervals.

Ireland's batsmen were finding spin bowling hard to play against and were all out for 124 in just 36.1 overs. Rashid Khan took three wickets for 18 runs while Mohammad Nabi and Gulbuddin Naib took two wickets apiece.

Afghanistan managed to chase down their target for the loss of just two wickets inside 24 overs. Opener Ihsanullah remained throughout and top-scored with 57 runs.

He was accompanied for much of the innings by Hashmatullah Shahidi, whose 34 was the second-highest score of the match.

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