U19 World Cup: Determined Ireland sneaks past Afghanistan in thriller

Its victory was met with chilling silence from the sizeable contingent of Afghanistan fans who had gathered for a bit of weekend entertainment, but this was a remarkable, fighting victory from Ireland against fellow new-entrant to the Test arena.

Put in, Ireland posted 225/8 in 50 overs, and importantly kept its opponents in the field under a mostly scorching sun for the duration of the innings. Jamie Grassi set things up with a 60-ball 32, Harry Tector, the captain, consolidated with a 62-ball 36 and Graham Kennedy attacked in the death overs, his unbeaten 24-ball 37 bolstering the total.

 Afghanistan couldn’t really put on a partnership that took it away from Ireland, who kept picking up important wickets. With four balls remaining, Max Neville had Qais Ahmed dismissed, and Ireland clinched the match, bowling out Afghanistan for 221.

Afghanistan, to their credit, scored fairly quickly, but what did it was its inability to keep wickets. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (7) fell in the sixth over and Ibrahim Zadran followed suit after adding 28 with Basir Shah. With Nisar Wahdat providing decent company, Basir went about with intent, and during their 46-run stand, it seemed Afghanistan needed just keep at it with patience.

It wasn’t to be. Basir’s caught-and-bowled dismissal to Varun Chopra was closely followed by Wahdat’s return to the pavilion, Ireland’s captain Tector finding the gap between his bat and pad to have him bowled. 

At four down for 100, Afghanistan desperately needed a partnership – it got only a brief one. Tariq Stanikzai seemed well set and was playing his shots, but despite that, Darwish Rasooli looked to go big – his disgruntled captain Naveen ul-Haq would later point to his rash shot as the turning point of the match – and he holed out for 11.

The pressure slowly began to rise, and the Ireland bunch sensed it. It was that much more vocal in the middle, that much more intense, the fielders applauding even the easiest stop. The pressure told when Stanikzai, Afghanistan’s best batsmen till that point, was bowled by Tector.