Tag Futebol

Leicestershire have announced the signing of Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal to play in the NatWest T20 Blast as cover for Grant Elliott

ESPNcricinfo staff13-May-2015Leicestershire have announced the signing of Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal to play in the NatWest T20 Blast as cover for Grant Elliott. Akmal will be available to play in four games in June, while Elliott is with New Zealand for their ODI series against England.”This will be my first time playing T20 for a county and I am very excited to be handed this opportunity,” Akmal said. “The club have put their trust in me so I will give my 100 percent efforts to repay their faith.”Akmal was a member of Pakistan’s World Cup squad and has played 170 limited-overs internationals for his country. Elliott and Akmal will share the second overseas slot during the Blast, with former Australia international Clint McKay available across all formats.Leicestershire’s head coach, Andrew McDonald, said: “It is brilliant that we are signing a player of Umar’s quality for when Grant is on international duty with New Zealand. Our fans should get the chance to see Umar at Grace Road on Friday, June 12, and we are all looking forward to him showcasing his skills over the course of the four games.”Leicestershire, who won the last of their three T20 titles in 2011, begin their Blast campaign on Friday against Lancashire. Akmal is expected to play in fixtures against Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire.”It is fantastic to have Umar with us when Grant goes to play for New Zealand,” Leicestershire captain Mark Cosgrove said. “Along with Clint, we have high-class overseas players to supplement the young talent we have here.”

The preview of the CLT20 final between Lions and Sydney Sixers, in Johannesburg

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran27-Oct-2012

Match facts

October 28, 2012
Start time 1730 local (1530 GMT)Sydney Sixers’ attack will be led by Mitchell Starc who has been among the best bowlers of the year in Twenty20s•Associated Press

Big Picture

The Champions League T20 may be the ugly step-sister of the cricketing world, with most fans giving it the cold shoulder, but for many of the players involved the final will be the biggest payday of their lives. With the champions getting a cool $2.5m, the money on offer will bump players, especially those who aren’t part of national teams or aren’t globetrotting T20 specialists, up a tax bracket or two. Adding to the occasion will be the sell-out crowd at one of cricket’s iconic venues, the Wanderers Stadium, which will make it among the biggest audiences some of the domestic players will play in front of.And contesting the final are the two most consistent sides of the tournament. Lions weren’t topping anybody’s list of favourites when the tournament began, but they have exceeded expectations through a combination of teamwork and temperament, keeping their head when things start to get tight. They have plenty going for them. The Wanderers is their home ground, and no one knows the conditions there better than Lions. The diversity in their batting – Twenty20 batting doesn’t get too much more of a contrast than the leg-side biffing of Ghulam Bodi and the surgical precision of Neil McKenzie – has been married to consistency through the tournament. And the bowling has four match-winners: their two imports Dirk Nannes and Sohail Tanvir, their best bowler in the domestic tournament, Chris Morris, and one of the bowlers of the CLT20, Aaron Phangiso.Their one reverse in this tournament came against their opponents in the final, Sydney Sixers. When the Big Bash League was launched a year ago, Sydney Sixers were the butt of jokes for their flamboyantly pink outfits, a colour which they started to refer to as ‘mangenta’. A year on, they have earned the respect of Twenty20 fans after winning the inaugural BBL, and are yet to drop a game in the CLT20.They came into the tournament as one of the leading contenders and have so far lived up to the tag, despite losing the services of Dwayne Bravo and Brett Lee to IPL teams, and that of possibly the most valuable player currently in T20 cricket, Shane Watson, midway through the tournament. They could also be without their captain, Brad Haddin, for the final, as he picked up a thumb injury – though he was fit enough to bat on Friday.

Watch out for…

Steve O’Keefe has opened the innings only three times in T20s: the semi-finals and final of the BBL, and Friday’s CLT20 semi-final against Titans. On all three occasions he has made a significant contribution, including a Man of the Match performance against Titans. In addition, his left-arm spin has been taken for less than a run-a-ball this tournament.Fast bowler Chris Morris was the top wicket-taker in South Africa’s domestic Twenty20 competition last season, and he came into the CLT20 on the back of a 12-wicket haul against Dolphins in a first-class game. He started off quietly in this tournament but hit the headlines with his spell against Delhi Daredevils in the semi-finals, helping his team defend a sub-par score by taking the key wicket of David Warner and then killing off the game with scalp of Kevin Pietersen.

Weather and conditions

Despite gloomy weather forecasts, the showers thankfully stayed away during both semi-finals. The organisers will hope that trend continues for the final as well, when light rain is predicted.

Stats and trivia

• Mitchell Starc is the leading wicket-taker not just in the tournament but in all Twenty20s this year, with an astonishing 56 wickets in 26 matches
• Six of the Lions players who were part of the semi-final have a batting average over 26 in T20s, while the highest among Sydney’s players in the semi-final was Nic Maddinson’s 25.76

Quotes

“I think the middle overs will be important. We’ve dominated that period in almost all our games and I think that will play a massive role once again.”

“Lions are very desperate to win. This is a chance for the domestic teams to showcase their skills at the international stage.”

Heavy rain in Kolkata has forced the Champions League Twenty20 governing council to move the four scheduled matches at Eden Gardens to Hyderabad and Bangalore

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2011Heavy rain in Kolkata has forced the Champions League Twenty20 governing council to move the four scheduled matches at Eden Gardens to Hyderabad and Bangalore, subject to approval from the local authorities.The Group B matches scheduled for September 25 and 27 will now take place in Hyderabad, while the match on September 29 involving Royal Challengers Bangalore and a team from the current qualifier will be played in Bangalore.”With regret and in the best interests of the tournament, CAB [Cricket Association of Bengal] and CLT20 have reluctantly agreed to moving its four scheduled Group B matches away from Eden Gardens due to the heavy rains that have deluged Kolkata,” Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of CAB, said in a statement.”We’re disappointed that we’re not able to host the matches, but this decision was unavoidable and taken out of our hands due to the current weather conditions. We wish CLT20 luck for the tournament and hope CAB will have the chance to host the event in the coming years.”

A round-up of the action from the second day of the ICC Women’s Cricket Challenge where West Indies, South Africa and Sri Lanka all recorded victories

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2010
Scorecard
Helmien Rambaldo’s 67 for Netherlands women was in vain against Sri Lanka women•International Cricket Council

South Africa humbled Pakistan at the Witrand Cricket Field in Potchefstroom, winning by seven wickets with almost 20 overs to spare. Opting to field, they made steady inroads into the Pakistan batting. After top-scorer Nain Abidi was dismissed for 30 to leave Pakistan at 83 for 4, there was no stopping the slide. Offspinner Sunette Loubser grabbed three wickets and Pakistan wilted, bowled out for 123. Wicketkeeper-batsman Trisha Chetty anchored South Africa’s reply, making a steady, unbeaten 60 to see her team through to its second straight win in the competition.
Scorecard
West Indies eased to their second consecutive win of the competition, thrashing Ireland by 166 runs in Potchefstroom. West Indies had begun the tournament on a high, seeing off Netherlands women by 148 runs and bettered that effort on Thursday with Stafanie Taylor, yet again, emerging their star. Opening the batting, she struck 72, an innings laced with six fours, and was supported in a 95-run stand for the third wicket by captain Merissa Aguilleira (44). Both were dismissed off successive deliveries in the 33rd over but Deandra Dottin, the first woman to score a Twenty20 century, stepped up to smash 72 off 59 balls and propel the West Indies score to 275.The start to Ireland’s chase was encouraging, with the openers Clare Shillington and Cecelia Joyce adding 66. But then began the slide, as left-arm seamer Shanel Daley removed the opening pair and set about shutting Ireland out of the game. There was plenty of support from the rest of the bowlers; Anisa Mohammed and Taylor, with their offspin, made inroads, grabbing two wickets each to help West Indies surge to another comprehensive win. Ireland were bowled out for 110, no other batsman, after the departure of the openers, managed to score more than 10.
Scorecard
Sri Lanka opened their account in the tournament with a comfortable win over Netherlands at the North-West University No.1 Ground in Potchefstroom. Their decision to bat was justified by a solid start provided by opener Hiruka Fernando and an attacking innings by Suwini de Alwis, who top-scored with 73, striking nine fours. Sandamali Dolawatta steadied things when Sri Lanka had appeared to lose their way towards the end of their innings with an unbeaten 48. She struck just one four in her knock but kept scoring at a good pace during her 61-ball stay. Sri Lanka managed 245, which proved more than adequate.Netherlands tried to put up a fight, captain Helmien Rambaldo scoring 67, adding 65 for the second wicket with opener Violet Wattenberg and a further 71 for the third wicket with Annemarie Tanke. However, those runs took too much time to accumulate and Netherlands struggled to match the increasing run-rate. Sri Lanka captain Shashikala Siriwardene removed her counterpart to make it 153 for 4 and Netherlands eventually ended up short, finishing on 195 for 8.

After scoring just 127, Zimbabwe had a chance with Afghanistan at 45 for 4, but they let the advantage slip

Himanshu Agrawal14-Dec-2024Afghanistan were down at 45 for 4 after seven overs in their pursuit of 128 to beat Zimbabwe in the third T20I, and with that, win the series. That could have been the point at which the game went Zimbabwe’s way. But Faraz Akram then bowled an 11-ball over with five wides to give Afghanistan the breathing space they needed, and the fifth-wicket pair of Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib eased into the repair job.Later, Akram’s bowling colleagues worked hard enough to dismiss Omarzai, Naib and Rashid Khan, and leave Afghanistan needing seven runs in the final over to win the game. But the first ball of the 20th, bowled again by Akram, went for four, and Mohammad Nabi wrapped the chase up with three balls remaining.A sloppy Zimbabwe eventually ended up giving away 17 extras, and have now lost all six of their bilateral T20I series against Afghanistan.[File photo] Brian Bennett has been Zimbabwe’s best batter of late•AFP/Getty Images

Bennett continues to score

After contributing in the T20Is against Pakistan prior to this series, Brian Bennett ended as the highest run-getter across the two sides against Afghanistan with 107 runs. He slapped and sliced Naveen-ul-Haq for fours in the third over, as Zimbabwe went on to put up 31 in four overs despite losing Tadiwanashe Marumani early after being asked to bat.Bennett was the third to fall when he swung Omarzai to Naveen at deep midwicket, having hit four boundaries in his 24-ball 31. Zimbabwe were 57 for 3 one ball into the ninth over, and the slowdown had begun.

Rashid runs through lower-middle order

From being 78 for 3 in the 11th over, Zimbabwe found themselves at 106 for 9 after 17. Rashid bagged four of those six wickets.But the slide had started with Sikandar Raza running out of luck. After a leading edge went over point and a top edge fell short of fine leg in the 11th over, Raza holed out to long leg off Mujeeb Ur Rahman.Mujeeb then had Wessly Madhevere caught for 21, after which Rashid weaved his magic. He trapped Akram in front, had Tashinga Musekiwa pulling to midwicket, saw Richard Ngarava chip to cover off a googly, and pinned Blessingh Muzarabani in front. The last three of those wickets all fell in the 17th over, as Rashid finished with 4 for 27. Although Wellington Masakadza scored 17 not out and added 21 with Trevor Gwandu for the last wicket, Zimbabwe’s 127 was below par.[File photo] Rashid Khan picked up four wickets, including three in one over•Getty Images

Bowlers give Zimbabwe a chance

Ngarava and Muzarabani got some extra bounce with the new ball, leaving Afghanistan at 9 for 2 three overs into the chase. Muzarabani struck first, when he had Sediqullah Atal tickling behind to Marumani. Ngarava then had Zubaid Akbari slashing behind to Marumani, as the ball kicked up from outside off.Rahmanullah Gurbaz then cut and clipped Muzarabani for fours in the fourth over, and he and Darwish Rasooli picked 11 runs off the fifth. But Muzarabani, bowling his third over in a row, found Rasooli’s leading edge, as the ball looped up to point.Raza then brought Gwandu into the attack, and some luck went Zimbabwe’s way immediately. A short ball skidded through without bouncing, and got Gurbaz out lbw. Afghanistan were 44 for 4, but Zimbabwe couldn’t capitalise.

Omarzai, Naib and Nabi take Afghanistan home

The over in which Akram bowled five wides went for ten runs, and Afghanistan hardly looked in trouble after that. Omarzai cut and pulled for boundaries during his stand with Naib, as they otherwise ticked along steadily – they added 48 for the fifth wicket, with the required rate below six runs an over.That is when Raza turned one into Naib, and had him lbw for a run-a-ball 22. Omarzai and new batter Nabi kept going mostly with ones and twos – although Nabi drove Ngarava for four on one occasion – but Raza got a simple return catch from Omarzai, who scored 34 from 37 balls.Afghanistan were left needing another 12 runs from nine balls as things got tight, but Nabi dabbed Gwandu for four behind point to settle the nerves. When he got the boundary to start the final over, bowled by Akram, victory was all but sealed.

England captain insists reversal of ODI retirement was ‘Ben’s call’

Vithushan Ehantharajah18-Aug-2023England limited-overs captain Jos Buttler left it to Ben Stokes to come out of ODI retirement and said “badgering” the allrounder would have been counter-productive to getting him back onboard for the upcoming 50-over World Cup.Stokes, the hero of the 2019 World Cup and last year’s T20 success, was officially drafted back into the 50-over set-up on Wednesday ahead of England’s title defence in India this autumn. He had originally retired from the format last summer due to what he perceived as an “unsustainable” workload because of his commitments as Test captain and a relentless international schedule.The 32-year-old had since waved away suggestions he would return to the format. He even highlighted the period between the end of the men’s Ashes and the beginning of a five-match Test series against India in January 2024 as the ideal window to sort out the chronic issue in his left knee that has hampered his ability to bowl in recent campaigns.Speaking on Wednesday after Stokes’ return was confirmed after missing 11 ODIs – including nine over a winter for which he would probably have been rested – national selector Luke Wright stated it was not a case of “needing to beg”. That sentiment was echoed by Buttler, who had been the selectors’ sole point of contact given his close friendship with Stokes.Having had the seed planted long before, Stokes reached out “a week or 10 days” after the Ashes concluded at the end of July to inform Buttler he wanted to return.”To be honest, it was Ben’s call,” Buttler said. “You all know Ben pretty well by now – I don’t think anyone talking to him would persuade him.Related

• Ben Stokes to retire from ODI cricket after Chester-le-Street farewell

• Ben Stokes returns to England ODI squad ahead of World Cup defence

• Archer misses out on England's World Cup squad

• Harry Brook's fall-guy status reflects rare richness of England white-ball talent

• John Turner on the fast track after rapid England elevation

“We had some conversations quite a while ago about it and just left it to him to come to me, basically, if he wanted to come back. We’re delighted that he feels ready to come back and any time you can welcome him back into the team is great.”Ben is very much his own man, he makes his own decisions. I’ve played with him for a very long time, I’m good friends with him. Me badgering him and saying ‘come back, come back’ is not really the way things work with Ben. He very much makes up his own mind and decides.”We had some conversations around it and just left it in his court. I’m sure the lure of playing in a World Cup is quite big for someone as competitive and as driven as he is to play in an England shirt. I’m delighted he felt up to it and could come back.”Stokes’ one-day record is arguably his best of the three formats, scoring 2,924 runs at an average of 38.98 across 105 caps and 74 wickets at 42.39. The latter figure, however, was not a consideration with Buttler reiterating Stokes will play solely as a batter.Moreover, his big-game prowess is invaluable as England look to make it three ICC limited-overs trophies out of four, having missed out on 2021’s T20 World Cup. Stokes was player of the match in the 2019 ODI final, when his 84 not out took England to a Super Over in which he batted alongside Buttler, with the hosts eventually winning on boundary count after the scores were tied. Last November, he marshalled a chase of 138 at the MCG against Pakistan with 52 not out as England became the first team to hold both men’s World Cups simultaneously.”I don’t think you need me to tell you what Ben Stokes brings to a team,” Buttler said. “It’s fantastic to have Ben back available. Any time a player of his quality is available again is fantastic. We’re delighted to welcome him back.”

Half-century and five-for for allrounder as Surrey extend unbeaten run

ECB Reporters Network02-Jun-2022Sam Curran produced an outstanding performance with bat and ball as Surrey thrashed Hampshire by 72 runs to move to the top of the South Group and maintain their 100 per cent record in this year’s Vitality Blast.The 23-year-old made 69 off 38 balls as Surrey piled up 228 for four – their second-highest total in T20 history – before taking a career-best five for 30 including three wickets in an over as Hampshire were dismissed for 156.A Kia Oval crowd of 15,000 was treated to some spectacular hitting, first by Curran and Will Jacks, who hammered 131 from 73 balls for the second wicket, and then by Sunil Narine, who added 52 from 23 deliveries.It was Surrey’s highest total at The Kia Oval for seven years and too much for a Hampshire side hampered by the absence of their best batsman James Vince through illness. James Fuller top-scored with 43 in their reply but they remain winless after four games.Yet it started well for them. After electing to bowl first they made a breakthrough in the first over when Liam Dawson spun one through Jason Roy’s defences.But Jacks and Curran were soon flaying their attack to all parts. Between them, they hit ten sixes and nine fours in a partnership that was Surrey’s third-highest in T20 and eclipsed their previous best against Hampshire when Jacks and Laurie Evans put on 118 at the Ageas Bowl two years ago.Jack hit 64 off 36 balls with five sixes – his second fifty in this season’s competition – and Curran also cleared the rope five times, including successive blows off Mason Crane to take him to his fifty. Crane’s three overs of leg spin disappeared for 58 runs.Dawson briefly dragged things back by dismissing both batsmen in the 13th over. Jacks was brilliantly caught by the diving Crane at wide mid-off before Crane took a far easier catch in the covers to dismiss Curran for 69 off 38 deliveries.But Hampshire’s suffering was far from over. Narine showcased spectacular timing and power to smash 52 from just 23 balls with five fours and four sixes and their reply began badly with Nick Gubbins acrobatically caught in the covers by Kieron Pollard off Reece Topley’s second ball.Ben McDermott and Tom Prest briefly raised Hampshire hopes by adding 54 off 23 balls with McDermott depositing a delivery from Topley onto the Harleyford Road before Curran produced his decisive burst, bowling Prest as he swung across the line, deceiving McDermott with a slower ball which the Australian chipped to mid-on and having Donald taken at mid-off off a top-edge.Curran then returned to bowl Nathan Ellis and pin Fuller lbw to complete an impressive night’s work.

Ishant Sharma’s absence for the Test series will be a “big loss” for India, Australia batsman said

Andrew McGlashan10-Dec-2020Steven Smith has said that Ishant Sharma’s absence for the Test series in Australia will be a “big loss” for India, but also conceded that David Warner missing at least the opening match in Adelaide will be a challenge for the home side’s depth.There could be a vulnerability at the top of the Australia order for the India bowlers to exploit with Warner out of Adelaide due to his groin injury, Joe Burns struggling for form and uncertainty over who the opening pair will be after Will Pucovski suffered concussion from a blow to the helmet against the Indians in the first tour match.One of the more unlikely routes Australia could take to plug the gap would be to promote Marcus Labuschagne to open, which could also create a route for in-form allrounder Cameron Green in the middle order, and Smith backed Labuschagne to fill the role if needed.”I think our depth is obviously going to be tested with Davey out and a few potentially new players coming in,” Smith said. “It’ll test us out no doubt against a good Indian outfit. We know how good they are at Test cricket. They beat us out here last time and they’re a very good side.””When you bat at No. 3 you are sometimes in second ball of the game, that’s the reality of batting there so, someone at three could certainly go up the top.”Ishant, who took 11 wickets at 23.81 on the previous tour to Australia, was ruled out of the series late last month following the abdominal injury he picked up at the IPL. Though he has recovered, the problem was getting him ready for the demands of Test cricket and also the difficulties presented by the need for two weeks quarantine on arrival in Australia.India will still be able to field Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, who were both central figures in their 2018-19 series victory, with Umesh Yadav shaping as the likely third quick following a strong outing against Australia A at Drummoyne Oval. Bumrah and Shami are set to play their first game of first-class cricket since the beginning of March in the day-night warm-up match against Australia A from Friday.Asked whether this could be considered India’s strongest-ever attack, Smith singled out the absence of Ishant. “They’re experienced now, particularly Shami and Bumrah,” he said. “Ishant Sharma is probably a big loss for them…he’s played a lot of cricket now and is a good bowler. Without him it may not be their strongest because I’m sure they’d like him to play, no doubt.”Shami’s played a lot of cricket, Bumrah’s played a reasonable amount of cricket and is a quality bowler. Whichever spinner they use – Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep – we’ll wait and see there but they’ve all played a fair bit of cricket now. They’re all good bowlers and we’re going to have to be at our best if we’re going to beat them.”Smith was not part of the 2018-19 series as he served his ban for the Newlands ball-tampering episode and this series will be the first time he has faced Bumrah in long-form cricket. In white-ball internationals he has faced Bumrah on 14 occasions, and been dismissed by him just one, and at the IPL they have come against each other 10 times with Bumrah removing Smith on three occasions.”His skillsets won’t change too much,” Smith said. “We know how he bowls, he’s got good pace, he’s got that awkward action, very different to a lot of people so you’ve got to be pretty watchful all the time and he’s a quality bowler, I’m excited to be coming up against him in this series. You like to be coming up against the best and he’s certainly up there with them.”Smith admitted he found it tough to follow the series two summers ago as he served his time away from the game. “I watched bits and pieces. It was difficult with sitting on the sidelines and not being able to go out there and make a difference, that was the toughest thing to me knowing I probably could make a difference if I was out there. That was hard, but it’s an exciting series coming up.”

India opener has been added to the squad for the final two one-dayers

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2019Shikhar Dhawan has been added to the India A squad for the fourth and fifth one-day games against South Africa A in Thiruvananthapuram, while Vijay Shankar has been ruled out of the series after an injury to his right thumb.

India A squad for last two one-dayers

Shreyas Iyer (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Prashant Chopra, Anmolpreet Singh, Ricky Bhui, Sanju Samson (wk), Nitish Rana, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Rahul Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Ishan Porel

Dhawan had left the World Cup after the first few matches after suffering a hairline fracture to his left thumb during the match against Australia. Upon returning to full fitness, he played in the limited-overs series in the West Indies, but made just 27 runs in the three T20Is and 38 runs in two ODIs.Vijay, who was all set to make his return to top-flight cricket after an injury had brought his maiden World Cup campaign to a premature end, was named in the squad for the entire series against South Africa A after missing the West Indies tour as he had not recovered in time. He made his return from injury in the Tamil Nadu Premier League earlier this month, where he made just ten runs and picked three wickets in three games for Chepauk Super Gillies.The BCCI had earlier named two India A squads – one for the first three matches and another for the last two games – with Manish Pandey (first three matches) and Shreyas Iyer (last two) sharing captaincy duties.India A are currently leading the series 1-0 following their 69-run win in the first one-dayer on Thursday.

Playing their 100th ODI, Afghanistan huffed and puffed to a total of 182, which wasn’t quite enough despite Rashid Khan picking up three wickets

The Report by Sruthi Ravindranath29-Aug-2018Getty Images

“Maybe their batting is not quite as strong as it has been recently, so as bowlers we’ve got to help the batters out and try and restrict them to as few as we can,” Tim Murtagh, the Ireland fast bowler, had said after collecting figures of 4 for 31 during his side’s loss to Afghanistan in the first ODI.Those were his career-best figures, and just 48 hours later Murtagh bettered them, picking up 4 for 30 as he, along with the rest of the Ireland pace attack, scythed through the Afghanistan line-up, before Andy Balbirnie and Simi Singh stitched together a crucial partnership to set up a series-levelling three-wicket win, consigning the visitors to their first loss of this tour. Opting to bat first in their 100th ODI game, Afghanistan slumped to 16 for 4 before finding some respite via their middle and lower order to finally post 182 for 9.Murtagh was scathing with the new ball, snuffing out Afghanistan’s top three in his first three overs. He pinned Mohammad Shahzad in front with an inswinger, the same method he used in his second over to remove Hazratullah Zazai’s middle stump. An edgy Gulbadin Naib became Murtagh’s second lbw victim in his third over. When a direct hit from Andy Balbirnie ran Hashmatullah Shahidi out in the ninth over, Afghanistan were in all sorts of strife.The onus was on captain Asghar Afghan and Rahmat Shah to pull things back, and they did just exactly that. The duo took their time, scoring only 20 off the first nine overs of their partnership, and enjoyed some luck too, with Simi dropping Rahmat at midwicket when he was on 4.While the pacers benefited from favourable conditions and bowled with discipline, the spinners did their bit as well to keep Afghanistan quiet. Offspinner Simi accounted for Rahmat, ending a fifth-wicket stand that had consumed 18.2 overs. Mohammad Nabi, playing his 100th ODI, began briskly, but was out for 13 off 12 balls when he slashed Peter Chase to third man. It was a well-deserved wicket for Chase, who hit the deck hard, and caused some discomfort with his short ball.Afghan fell 4.4 overs later, Paul Stirling running him out with a direct hit at the bowler’s end. He had made 39 off 82 balls. At this point, Afghanistan had nearly 16 overs to bat out with only three wickets in hand, and Najibullah Zadran and Rashid Khan at the crease.They added 29 before Murtagh returned to dismiss the scratchy Rashid. Najibullah stepped up his scoring rate, hitting Kevin O’Brien for a four and a six in successive overs from the medium-pacer before holing out looking for a repeat of his pulled six. He had made 42 off 52 balls.With 3.3 overs remaining, Afghanistan were in danger of being bowled out, but their tenth-wicket pair of Mujeeb ur Rahman and Aftab Alam managed to bat through till the end of the 50th over, finding the boundary twice each while adding an unbroken 22.In the first over of Ireland’s chase, Mujeeb came round the wicket to dismiss captain William Porterfield in the first over with a ball that kept low. But the second-wicket pair of Paul Stirling and Balbirne stepped up and stitched together a 69-run stand, even as Afghanistan bowled a spinner and a seamer in tandem until the 15th over in a bid to choke the batsmen. Afghanistan finally got their breakthrough in the 17th over, when Nabi had Stirling stumped on 39.With Balbirne in fluent form, Ireland had the upper hand in most parts of their chase, except when they lost three quick wickets to spin in a space of eight overs and found themselves 97 for 4. While Mujeeb teased the batsmen with the carom ball, Rashid unleashed his googly, one of which foxed Kevin O’Brien and had him lbw in the 25th over.Balbirnie was still there, pulling and sweeping with power. His partnership with Simi was the highlight of the chase, the duo playing patiently against the spinners and making most of their runs via swift running between wickets. With Balbirnie set at one end, Simi was able to take hise time to settle in. During an attempt to take a quick single in the 35th over, Balbirnie slipped near the crease and landed on his elbow, and called for the physio to have a look. Two balls later, he fell to a stunning catch by Najibullah when he edged Rashid to slip. With 39 required with five wickets in hand, Afghanistan sensed a bit of an opening.Gary Wilson and Andy McBrine fell soon afterwards, leaving Ireland 164 for 7 in the 41st over. Simi was the key man now, and he was playing the spinners with ease. He just needed someone to stay with him, and it was Murtagh, fittingly, who kept him company, the eighth-wicket pair seeing Ireland home with an unbroken 19-run stand in 21 balls.The deciding ODI – the last match of Afghanistan’s tour – will be played at the same venue on Friday.