LAST UPDATE | 1 Mar
IRELAND WON THEIR first Test match on Friday when they defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in Abu Dhabi, ending a streak of seven successive losses.
Captain Andrew Balbirnie led from the front with an undefeated 58 as Ireland reached their modest target of 111 in the final session of the third day.
H.I.S.T.O.R.Y. pic.twitter.com/JYZQxYYfjq
— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) March 1, 2024
Ireland played their first Test back in 2018 when they were defeated by Pakistan.
“We’re absolutely excited. We’ve created history. The monkey is off the back and it’s very special to do that,” said Balbirnie whose team were wobbling at 13-3 at one stage.
“Obviously there were nerves; we were chasing our first win. You ask this whole group how special this is. A lot of our guys didn’t get to play Test cricket. Hopefully people back home want to be Test cricketers.”
Afghanistan resumed their second innings Friday on 134-3 before they were dismissed for 218.
Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi top scored with 55 while Rahmanullah Gurbaz, making his Test debut, hit 46.
Mark Adair picked up three wickets to finish with eight for the match. Craig Young and Barry McCarthy also claimed three apiece.
Gurbaz, better known for his flamboyant and explosive shot-making in limited overs cricket, clubbed the only two sixes of the innings.
Chasing just 111 for victory, Ireland slumped to 13-3 with 18-year-old fast bowler Naveed Zadran clean-bowling opener Peter Moor and Curtis Campher, both without scoring.
Balbirnie denied the teenager a hat-trick but Harry Tector was soon caught behind by Gurbaz off Nijat Masood for two.
Balbirnie and Paul Stirling, who both played in Ireland’s debut Test in 2018, briefly steadied dressing room nerves.
One for the fans… ☘️🏏 pic.twitter.com/fvCdSSwF59
— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) March 1, 2024
Stirling was then caught in the slips off left-arm spinner Zia-ur-Rehman for 14 as Ireland slipped to 39-4 just after tea.
However, Balbirnie moved watchfully to his fourth Test half-century, which came from 86 balls, ably supported by Lorcan Tucker (27 not out) in a crucial winning partnership of 72.
Irish fast bowler Adair said he was “buzzing” with the victory.
“Test cricket is pretty difficult. I think we’ve got a really good bowling group,” he said.
The two teams will now play three one-day internationals and three T20 games as part of their multi-format series.
Full scoreboard:
Afghanistan 1st innings 155 all out (I. Zadran 53; M. Adair 5-39)
Ireland 1st innings 263 all out (P. Stirling 52; Zia-ur-Rehman 5-64)
Afghanistan 2nd innings (overnight 134-3)
Ibrahim Zadran c Moor b Adair 12
Noor Ali Zadran c Adair b McCarthy 32
Rahmat Shah c Tucker b Adair 9
Hashmatullah Shahidi lbw b Adair 55
Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Young 46
Nasir Jamal b McCarthy 2
Karim Janat c Balbirnie b Young 13
Zia-ur-Rehman c Balbirnie b van Woerkom 13
Naveed Zadran b Young 25
Nijat Masood b McCarthy 0
Zahir Khan not out 4
Extras (b7) 7
Total (all out; 75.4 overs) 218
Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Ibrahim Zadran), 2-38 (Rahmat Shah), 3-93 (Noor Ali Zadran), 4-140 (Hashmatullah Shahidi), 5-143 (Nasir Jamal), 6-173 (Karim Janat), 7-174 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz), 8-206 (Zia-ur-Rehman), 9-207 (Nijat Masood, 10-218 (Naveed Zadran)
Bowling: Mark Adair 16-3-56-3, Barry McCarthy 18-5-48-3, Theo van Woerkom 13-3-43-1, Andy McBrine 17-3-38-0, Craig Young 10.4-2-24-3, Harry Tector 1-0-2-0
Ireland 2nd innings (target 111)
P. Moor b Naveed Zadran 0
A. Balbirnie not out 58
C. Campher b Naveed Zadran 0
H. Tector c Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Nijat Masood 2
P. Stirling c Rahmat Shah b Zia-ur-Rehman 14
L. Tucker not out 27
Extras (lb7, nb3) 10
Total (four wickets; 31.3 overs) 111
Did not bat: Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Theo van Woerkom, Craig Young
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Moor), 2-8 (Campher), 3-13 (Tector), 4-39 (Stirling)
Bowling: Nijat Masood 8-1-27-1 (1nb), Naveed Zadran 9.3-0-31-2, Zia-ur-Rehman 11-0-33-1, Zahir Khan 3-0-13-0 (2nb)
Result: Ireland won by six wickets
Toss: Afghanistan
Umpires: Adrian Holdstock (RSA), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
TV Umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS)
Match Referee: David Boon (AUS)
