Afghanistan T20 Match Report

After losing to Sri Lanka A in their first game, Ireland turned things around to beat Afghanistan in the Associates Twenty20 Series. A marvellous stint at bat from captain William Porterfield was the main reason for Ireland's win, as well as some splendid bowling from Trent Johnston, Andre Botha, and George Dockrell.

Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. They started poorly, with opener Karim Sadiq stumped for three, and although Shafiqullah held on as another wicket was taken, they had four out for just 49 runs, and Ireland looked very much in command. Their star man on the day was Raess Ahmadzai who held on to the end, and scored a very credible 33 not out. Ireland took nine wickets, and Afganistan ended their twenty overs with a makable 121 (6.05 runs per over).

The Irish bowling side was in much better form than against Sri Lanka A, and only five players were utilised, bowling a maximum 4 overs each. Irish cricket legend Trent Johnston started incredibly well, taking out the first three Afghanistan batsmen, and even scoring a maiden over in a phenomenal stint with the ball (he went on to take another wicket, ending with 4-22). Botha took 3 wickets and Dockrell took 2, while Alex Cusack and Kevin O'Brien did only alright, giving away too many runs. Dockrell and Botha were magnificent though, allowing only 11 and 14 runs respectively.

Ireland opened their attack with the same opening duo who played against Sri Lanka A. This time, they were much improved, with Niall O'Brien scoring 18 from 13 balls, and William Porterfield hitting nine boundaries on the way to a very impressive 48 from 30 balls. Ireland were halfway to their target after just 7 overs and looked comfortable until a middle-order batting collapse led to some nervous moments. In just twelve balls, Andre Botha (5 runs), Kevin O'Brien (1), and Paul Stirling (17) were all taken out. However for the second successive match, the duo of John Mooney and Gary Wilson teamed up to close out the match for Ireland. This time however, they were on the winning side. Mooney 8 not out and Wilson 16 not out. Some poor bowling from the Afghanis also allowed thirteen extras, as they used seven different attackers to try and bowl Ireland out. It was not to be, however, as Ireland won with eleven balls remaining.

Ireland take on Canada tomorrow in Colombo as they continue their cricket tour of Sri Lanka. It's on at 04:30 GMT, in case you plan on staying up to keep an eye on it.