Afghanistan vs Ireland 2019: Only Test, Dehradun – Day 1 Report
Mar 15, 2019 at 5:04 PM
Afghanistan vs Ireland 2019: Only Test, Dehradun – Day 1 Report; After the fine limited over series, Afghanistan and Ireland locked horns in the purest form of the game. On the first day of the only Test, Afghanistan took the honours with their brilliance with the ball. On the other hand, Ireland is trying their best to make a comeback.
Yamin, Mohammad Nabi stars for Afghanistan:
Initially, it was Ireland, who won the toss and elected to bat first. The openers of Ireland Porterfield and Paul Stirling started things in a fine fashion by scoring 37 runs for the first wicket before losing Paul Stirling for his personal score of 9 runs.
He was followed by the skipper William Porterfield and Balbirnie in quick time to make things look bleak for Ireland. Their vows further stretched when middle-order failed to get runs to their name thus making scorecard read 69/8.
Then came the brilliant 39-run knock from George Dockrell, who carried his scintillating batting form. The major surprise came from the number 11 batsman Tim Murtagh, who scored 54 runs and also the highest scorer of the team.
The 87-run partnership saw Ireland post 172 runs on the board. For Afghanistan, Yamin Ahmadzai picked up 3 wickets alongside Mohammad Nabi. Meanwhile, Rashid Khan and Waqar bagged a couple of wickets.
Mohammad Shahzad scored 40:
In reply, Shahzad once again played his natural game. He smashed Ireland bowlers to all corners of the park before handing a return catch to James Cameron, which saw him walking back with 40 runs. He was quickly followed by Ihsanullah Janat, who scored 7 runs.
James Cameron was the pick of the bowlers with 2 wickets to his name. At the end of the Day 1 Stumps, Rahmat Shah and Hasmatullah Shahidi are at the crease with 22 and 13 respectively. They scored 90/2 in 30 overs.
Performers of the day 1:
The Ireland players George Dockrell and number 11 batsman Tim Murtagh are the performers on Day 1 for Ireland. They both added a brilliant 87-run partnership for the 10th wicket thus bringing life to the game. In bowling, Yamin and Mohammed Nabi are the star performers.
The crucial aspect of the day:
Nabi and Yamin’s spell followed by the double-wicket spell of Rashid Khan as the big aspect of the day. It pushed Ireland into discomfort zone. At one stage, they looked like bundling out under 100 but the brilliant 10th wicket partnership turned things.
Brief Scores:
Ireland Innings: