NAIB STARS AS AFGHANISTAN BEAT IRELAND IN 1ST ONE-DAYER
DEHRADUN : Gulbadin Naib starred with bat and ball as Afghanistan outplayed Ireland by five wickets in the first ODI on Thursday. Naib took two wickets to help dismiss Ireland for 161 and then struck a crucial 46 as Afghanistan achieved their target in 41.5 overs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad put the chase on course with his 43 off 53 balls but his departure triggered a mini collapse as Afghanistan slipped to 104 for four. Naib then put on 49 runs with skipper Asghar Afghan, who made seven not out, to stabilise the innings with some cautious batting against a disciplined Ireland attack. Naib was out with Afghanistan needing nine for victory and Najibullah Zadran, who turned 26 on Thursday, celebrated his birthday with two sixes to complete the chase. “We are happy to win the first match of the series. Chasing is not a concern. Sometimes the wicket is like that and that’s why we play carefully at times,” Afghan said after the win. Teenage spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman also played a key role in setting up the win after returning impressive figures of 3-14 from his 10 overs. The 17-year-old Rahman shared the new ball with paceman Dawlat Zadran, who also claimed three wickets.
Brief scores: Ireland 161 all out in 49.2 overs (P Stirling 89, G Dockrell 37, N Zadran 3-35, M Rahman 3-14, G Nain 2-20) lost to Afghanistan 165/5 in 41.5 overs (M Shahzad 43, G Naib 46, Rankin 2-48) by 5 wkts.