The Ireland cricket team toured India in February and March 2019 to play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and a Test match against the Afghanistan cricket team.[1][2] It was Ireland's first Test played overseas[3] and the first Test match between the two sides.[4] All of the fixtures took place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun.[5] The ODI fixtures were part of Afghanistan's preparation for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[6] In January 2019, the fixtures were brought forward by two days, to avoid clashing with the Indian Premier League.[7]
| Irish cricket team against Afghanistan in India in 2018–19 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 | ||
| Afghanistan | Ireland | ||
| Dates | 21 February – 19 March 2019 | ||
| Captains | Asghar Afghan |
William Porterfield (Test & ODIs) Paul Stirling (T20Is) | |
| Test series | |||
| Result | Afghanistan won the 1-match series 1–0 | ||
| Most runs | Rahmat Shah (174) | Andrew Balbirnie (86) | |
| Most wickets | Rashid Khan (7) |
Stuart Thompson (3) Andy McBrine (3) James Cameron-Dow (3) | |
| One Day International series | |||
| Results | 5-match series drawn 2–2 | ||
| Most runs | Asghar Afghan (226) | Andrew Balbirnie (215) | |
| Most wickets | Mujeeb Ur Rahman (7) | George Dockrell (8) | |
| Player of the series | Andrew Balbirnie (Ire) | ||
| Twenty20 International series | |||
| Results | Afghanistan won the 3-match series 3–0 | ||
| Most runs | Hazratullah Zazai (204) | Paul Stirling (124) | |
| Most wickets | Rashid Khan (11) | Boyd Rankin (6) | |
| Player of the series | Mohammad Nabi (Afg) | ||
In the second T20I match, the Afghanistan team set several records. They made the highest team total, with 278 for 3,[8] which included the highest partnership for any wicket, with Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani putting on 236 runs for the first wicket.[9] Hazratullah Zazai scored 162 not out, the highest score for an Afghan batsman in a T20I fixture.[10] Afghanistan went on to win the T20I series 3–0.[11] The ODI series was drawn 2–2, after the second match finished as a no result.[12]
Afghanistan won the one-off Test match by seven wickets to record their first victory in a Test match.[13] They became the joint-second quickest, after England and Pakistan, to record their maiden win in Test cricket.[14] Asghar Afghan, captain of the Afghanistan team said that "it is a historic day for Afghanistan, for Afghanistan people, for our team, for our cricket board".[15] Ireland's captain, William Porterfield, said he was pleased how the five debutants performed and that Afghanistan were deserved winners.[16] Afghanistan's all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, praised both the batting and the bowling from the team saying "it shows we are ready for Test cricket".[17] Player of the match, Rahmat Shah, moved up to 89th place in the ICC Test Player Rankings, the highest-placed batsman for Afghanistan.[18]
Squads
editAhead of the ODI series, Stuart Thompson was added to Ireland's squad.[21] Following the conclusion of the ODI series, Zahir Khan and Sayed Shirzad were both added to Afghanistan's Test squad.[22]
T20I series
edit1st T20I
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- Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
- George Dockrell and Stuart Poynter made Ireland's highest seventh-wicket partnership in T20Is (67).[23]
- Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran made Afghanistan's highest sixth-wicket partnership in T20Is (86).[23]
2nd T20I
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- Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani (Afg) made the highest partnership for any wicket in T20Is (236).[24]
- Hazratullah Zazai scored his first T20I century and made the highest score for an Afghan batsman in T20Is, and second highest individual score overall.[25]
- Hazratullah Zazai also hit the most sixes in an innings in T20Is (16),[26] with Afghanistan hitting the most sixes in an innings by a team in T20Is (22).[27]
- Afghanistan's total of 278 runs was the highest by any team in a T20I.[28]
- Paul Stirling made the highest individual total for Ireland in T20Is.[29]
3rd T20I
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- Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
- Ziaur Rahman (Afg) made his T20I debut.
- Kevin O'Brien (Ire) scored his 1,000th run in T20Is.[30]
- Rashid Khan (Afg) took a hat-trick and four wickets with four balls.[31]
ODI series
edit1st ODI
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- Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
- This was the first ODI to be played at this venue.
- James McCollum (Ire) made his ODI debut.
2nd ODI
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- Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- Rain during Afghanistan's innings prevented any further play.
- Ikram Alikhil, Sayed Shirzad (Afg) and James Cameron-Dow (Ire) all made their ODI debuts.
3rd ODI
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- Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- Najibullah Zadran (Afg) scored his first century in ODIs.[32]
- Andrew Balbirnie scored the most sixes in an ODI innings for Ireland (8).[33]
4th ODI
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- Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
5th ODI
editOnly Test
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- Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
- This was the first Test to be played at this venue.[34]
- Ihsanullah, Ikram Alikhil, Waqar Salamkheil (Afg), James Cameron-Dow, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, James McCollum and Stuart Poynter (Ire) all made their Test debuts.
- Rashid Khan became the first bowler for Afghanistan to take a five-wicket haul in Tests.[35]
- This was Afghanistan's first win in Tests.[36]
Notes
edit- ^ While five days of play were scheduled for the one-off Test, the match reached a result in four days.
References
edit- ^ ""Afghanistan series a major step forward for Irish cricket," says Balbirnie as tour dates confirmed". Cricket Ireland. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ "Afghanistan-Ireland series advanced to February 21". Cricbuzz. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Ireland to play Afghanistan Test match in 2019". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ "One-off Test: Afghanistan to host Ireland in Dehradun". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ "Ireland to face Afghanistan in first oversees Test in March". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ "Revised tour dates for Ireland v Afghanistan series released". Cricket Ireland. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ "Ireland-Afghanistan tour dates adjusted to avoid clash with IPL". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ "Afghanistan hammer highest T20 total". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ "Afghanistan set record T20 international total as they hit 278-3 to beat Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Hazratullah Zazai 162*, Afghanistan 278 - a record-breaking T20I". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Rashid's Five-for Helps Afghanistan Complete Whitewash Over Ireland". Network18 Media and Investments Ltd. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ "Ireland beat Afghanistan by five wickets to draw one-day international series in India". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "Rahmat Shah and Isanullah see Afghanistan through to maiden test win". ESPNcricinfo. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ "'Historic day for Afghanistan, for our people, for our team' – Asghar Afghan". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ "'A historic day for Afghanistan' - Asghar Afghan". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ "Test - Day 4: Afghanistan hold off Ireland to secure maiden Test victory". Cricket Ireland. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ "'It shows we are ready for Test cricket' – Nabi on historic Afghanistan win". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
- ^ "Rahmat advances 88 places after scripting Afghanistan's maiden Test win". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
- ^ a b c "Mujeeb left out for Ireland Test, Shahzad out of T20Is". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ a b c "Ireland announce squads for Afghanistan series". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ "Cricket Ireland monitoring India-Pakistan tensions ahead of Afghanistan ODI series". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
- ^ "Afghanistan add Zahir Khan and Sayed Shirzad to Test squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Nabi shines and records tumble as Afghanistan clinch T20I opener". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- ^ "Hazratullah Zazai cuts loose, Afghanistan demolish Ireland, T20I record books". Cricket Country. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Hazratullah Zazai's night to remember". CricBuzz. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Afghanistan hit world record T20 score". SuperSport. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Afghanistan vs Ireland, 2nd T20I: Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani go berserk as Afghanistan smash T20I records". The Times of India. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Afghanistan smash record T20 score of 278 against Ireland". Sky Sports. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Record-breaking Zazai scripts Afghanistan victory". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "'We're gearing up for bigger things' – Kevin O'Brien". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- ^ "Rashid Khan takes four in four balls as Afghanistan win final T20 against Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ "3rd ODI: Najibullah Zadran's unbeaten century carries Afghanistan to 256/8". Cricket Country. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ "Ireland beat Afghanistan: Andrew Balbirnie hits 145 not out". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ "Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium To Host First Test Match Between Afghanistan And Ireland From March 15". The Times of India. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ "Test hangs in balance despite Rashid five-for". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- ^ "Shah, Janat seal historic maiden Test victory for Afghanistan". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 March 2019.