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Afghanistan defeated Ireland by five wickets to seal their berth for the ICC World Cup in England next year. Meanwhile, Afghanistan will join fellow qualifiers West Indies in the 10-team World Cup.

However, it was not a cakewalk for the Afghans. They lost the first three matches, and World Cup qualification seemed a dream too far. Meanwhile, UAE’s shocking win over Zimbabwe not only eliminated the hosts from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 race but also gave Afghanistan and Ireland a lifeline by turning their last Super Six match a must-win encounter.

Batting first, Ireland posted a modest total of 209 banking on Paul Sterling (55) and Kevin O’Brien (41). Young sensation Rashid Khan returned with three wickets as he took his wickets tally to 99 ODI wickets.

Watch: Afghanistan's World Cup Qualification Lead to Wild Celebrations 2 — (Photo by Julian Herbert-IDI/IDI via Getty Images)

However, in reply, burly opener Mohammad Shahzad clobbered 54 off 50 balls in an opening stand of 86 with Gulbadin Naib.

Skipper Asghar Stanikzai and Najibullah Zadran then led the Afghans to a memorable victory with five balls to play.

Afghanistan’s unique celebration:

Following the win, there was pandemonium in the Afghan dressing room as the players celebrated their World Cup qualification. In a video posted by ICC from their official Twitter account, the players shouted slogans. The Afghanistan players led by Rashid Khan, loudly shouted “we are in” multiple times to rejoice their memorable feat.