Live Score

Best Bowling Figures for Afghanistan in ODIs:

7/18 - Rashid Khan vs West Indies, Gros Islet, 2017

6/26 - AM Ghazanfar vs Bangladesh, Sharjah, 2024

6/34 - Rashid Khan vs Ireland, Bready, 2026, Today*

6/43 - Rashid Khan vs Ireland, Greater Noida, 2017

6/43 - Gulbadin Naib vs Ireland, Belfast, 2019

Biggest Wins for Afghanistan vs Ireland in ODIs (by runs):

138, Sharjah, 2017

126, Belfast, 2019

117, Sharjah, 2024

109, Dehradun, 2019

92, Bready, 2026, Today*

Rashid Khan (POTM): "[What did he enjoy most?] I enjoy the sharp spin that is on offer here. More importantly, the challenge was to hit the right areas consistently. That is what I am focusing on. It gives you rewards.

[What is the key length?] The length of 5-5.5 meters at the stumps keeps you in the game. Always try your best to bowl into the stumps. That makes you effective. You just need to keep things simple. Hit the right areas. Keep mixing it up. Leg spin, googly, flipper but more important is the length.

[On the entire team performance] I think that one game does not make us the best team. We had a tough series against India. We need to improve in the bowling department. The quicker bowlers need to bowl better in the death and with the new ball. Against India we made too many mistakes. For us as a team it is a great opportunity to bowl in good areas in the upcoming games. It will be a good preparation for the next World Cup."

Paul Stirling (Ireland Captain): "[Were there any positives?] Yeah I think so. There was a little rust in all three facets. We will look at this game and see that we did a lot of good things, but we were fractionally of the pace in the field. Could have had a run out or two. With bat we fell away at the backend. With the ball we were bad at the start. Plenty to work on.

[On the debutants doing well] Absolutely, they all showed what they could do. Some of them had good games individually. It is all about putting it up like a package. When you start with 3 new faces, you have to build from scratch. They showed they belong and hopefully they have good futures ahead.

[Plan going forward] We have to adapt very quickly. In the past we played well against Rashid Khan by taking his wickets away. Today as well, we played well against the other bowlers. We were up with the run rate. At the halfway point in the chase, we were right in the game. Take the Rashid Khan wickets away and we would be right in the game."

Rahmat Shah (Afghanistan Captain): "[On the batting performance] I think our top order played really well. They assessed the conditions early and that is why we got close to 300.

[Could they have scored more?] I think we missed 20-30 runs. We need to work on not giving away wickets in the middle.

[Plans with the ball] The wind played a big role. I tried to use the fast bowlers against the wind and the spinners were taking help off the wind. Rashid bowled really well. We are very lucky that we have him in the team.

[A word on the other bowlers except Rashid Khan] Yeah, I think the bowlers executed the plans that were given to them. That is why the result was in our favour."

Rahmat Shah's captaincy tenure starts with a win. After a disappointing outing in India a couple of months ago, Afghanistan have started the Ireland series on the perfect note. They would like to build on this with 2027 World Cup in sight.

On this note, I, Manan Mehta, would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleagues Dev Rajawat, AkshayaKrishna Polya and Ghanendra Singh Thakur. Stay Safe, Stay Happy and Stay Healthy!