INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
In the 3rd and final ODI of the series, Afghanistan beat Ireland by 117 runs, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, on Monday and win the
ODI Series 2-0.Ireland Men fell to a 117-run defeat at the hands of Afghanistan this evening & a result that saw the hosts clinch a 2-0 ODI
series victory in Sharjah.The spin duo of experienced Mohammad Nabi (5-17) and 19-year-old debutant Nangeyalia Kharote (4-30) were the
eventual stars with the ball for the hosts, who successfully defended their 237-run target by bowling Ireland all-out for 119 in 35 overs
Nabi had earlier made a crucial 48 with the bat before going on to claim the best figures of his international career.Having narrowly lost
the first ODI, and seen the second washed out, Ireland was looking to level the series in its third and final match before three T20Is begin
later in the week.Paul Stirling called correctly at the toss once again, opting to bowl first and naming one change to his side from the
opening fixture, Barry McCarthy replacing Craig Young.It was McCarthy who struck the first blow, removing opener Ibrahim Zadran (22) to end
a 62-run partnership with Rahmanullah Gurbaz (51)
That sparked a flurry of wickets, Afghanistan swiftly falling from 62-0 to 96-4.A fifth-wicket recovery ensued, however, as the wise-heads
of Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (69) and Nabi shared a 97-run stand until the latter picked out Harry Tector at long-on off the
bowling of Theo van Woerkom.Adair (3-51) and McCarty (2-42) delivered well-executed spells at the death to limit Afghanistan to 236-9 from
their 50 overs.Andrew Balbirnie fell early in the reply, but Stirling (50) and Curtis Campher (43) soon steadied the ship
Stirling had registered his highest score as captain in ODIs reaching a run-a-ball half-century & an innings that included four boundaries
However, he was caught at long-off three balls later off the bowling of Nabi.That ended a 73-run partnership for the second wicket which
took Ireland to 77-2 halfway through the 18th over and with 160 runs required for victory
At that stage Ireland were still firmly in the contest, until Nabi and Kharote took a grip on proceedings.Nabi accounted for both Tector and
Lorcan Tucker in swift succession, five days after the pair made 138 and 85, respectively, at the same venue.Kharote had Campher caught
behind soon after, went on to bowl George Dockrell and then trap Adair leg-before-wicket in a superb spell of bowling that left Ireland
stunned.Nabi completed a maiden five-wicket haul in international cricket with a beauty that cleaned-up Andy McBrine and the series was
wrapped up when McCarthy suffered the same fate at the hands of Kharote.The two teams now play three T20Is at the same venue, starting
Friday, 15 March.The post Afghanistan beat Ireland by 117 runs to take series 2-0 first appeared on Ariana News.
