Stirling shines but Ireland fall again
PAUL STIRLING (right) joined an elite band of 10 batsmen who have scored four ODI centuries in six matches or fewer, in Abu Dhabi yesterday, but it again wasn’t enough to get Ireland over the line as Afghanistan completed a 3-0 series win.
After beating England in August, Ireland had high hopes of adding to those 10 World Cup Super League points, but the greater depth and experience of Afghanistan proved the difference when it mattered in all three games, towards the end of each innings.
In the final match, Andy McBrine and Simi Singh again caused problems, and Harry Tector took his first Ireland wicket as the third spinner, but another whirlwind cameo of 48 from 40 balls by Rashid Khan lifted his side from the depths of 163-7. To twist the knife, after Rashid fell to first ball of the penultimate over, the Afghan last-wicket pair found another
22 runs from the final 11 balls, and the difference between chasing something in the low 250s and 266-9 is massive.
Stirling looked to be taking Ireland to a consolation victory with something to spare, though, as he dominated the early scoring with 80 of Ireland’s first 100 runs.
The Belfast man reached his century off 101 balls and after he struck his eighth and ninth fours in the 36th over – he had also cleared the ropes six times – Ireland needed 80 to win, with six wickets in hand, and were favourites to do so.
Stirling then deflected a quicker ball from Mujeeb ur Rahman into his stumps and departed for 118, the odds reversed and the Ireland tail managed only one more boundary as they were bowled out for 230 in the 48th over. “We’ve got to be better than what we’ve shown in the last few games,” skipper Andy Balbirnie, who only managed 25 from three innings, said. “Paul has been superb, but no one could really back him up and get that big score to win us a game.
“We’ve got to be there to support him. It just needed someone to stick with him and get a 50 or 60, but it didn’t happen. We probably haven’t been up to our usual standards.”