Afghanistan 155 for 7 (Ibrahim 72*, Ishaq 27) batted Ireland 98 (Campher 28, Omarzai 4-9, Naveen 3-10) by 57 runs
Sloppy Delaney all around
Ibrahim was on 10 when Delaney dropped a simple catch off Campher in the sixth over. Placed at deep square leg, he didn’t get as far forward as he should have, even though he had his eyes on the skier.
When Delany came on to bowl the seventh over, he failed to collect a shot from short third and allowed Sadiqullah Atal an extra run. Delany then dropped a difficult catch of Omarzai after he turned and ran again in front of point off Campher. But at 1 at that point, Omarzai fell for 3 just two balls later. Then there was another misfield by Delany in the ninth over.
As if that wasn’t enough, Ireland faced more misfortune – just like in the first T20I. Ben White had Mohammad Ishaq caught at deep mid off in the 13th over, but the umpire ruled it was a no-ball even as replays showed that the heel, which was the first point of impact, had landed just behind the line. Ishaq was on 15 at the time, and went on to make 27, before a superb catch by Paul Stirling off White had him caught in the 15th over.
Ibrahim rules Afghanistan
In that game, Ibrahim’s T20I strike rate was just 105. But on Monday night, put his runs at 141. He had hit just one four in a quiet start before being dismissed, managing just 12 from his first 13 balls. But in the next 38 deliveries he smashed 60.
Ibrahim continued to find the occasional boundary during his fourth-wicket stand of 54 with Ishaq, while also scoring singles and twos. He pulled and swept White, and drilled Josh Little for extra cover after making space. But Ibrahim kept two elegant shots for Mark Adair, who he bowled for six, and hit a short fine for four in the 18th over.
Naveen sets the tone in the powerplay
Bowling second, Naveen’s first ball saw massive seam movement and extra bounce. The ball landed at a long length on the sixth stump but hit the top leg of Andy Balbirnie. His second ball swung well to bowl Lorcan Tucker for a golden duck. Fittingly, Naveen also cleaned up White to end Ireland’s innings for 98, this time setting up the batting with a slower ball.
Omarzai enters with the ball
Omarzai came into the game after back-to-back first-ball dismissals and ended the series with just three runs to his name. But it started with the ball. Taking one off Tector, he put the batter to deep midwicket in the eighth over before Ireland threatened to rebuild. In the tenth over, Omarzai spotted George Dockrell’s front foot outside the track and followed it up with a single inside.
With the game all but over, Omarzai got Adair to a stop before getting a rematch with Barry McCarthy – both in the 16th over. While the slowness of the pitch caused Adair to be pulled early, Omarzai saw McCarthy slip away and came up short to squeeze him for space. A comfortable spin to the left gave him four wickets and Afghanistan the match.
Himanshu Agrawal is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo