Afghanistan won by 5 wkts
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Gulbadin Naib
Batter
Bowler
So, another loss for Ireland - they are yet to register a win on this tour. When you lose three wickets in the first eight overs, it's tough to recover. They did a good job to post a score in excess of 150 after being reduced to 69/6 - thanks to Stirling and Dockrell. With the ball, the Irish men gave their best, but they didn't have enough runs on the board. Afghanistan will hope to keep the winning habit going. They won this fixture with limited contribution from Rashid Khan and that should be an encouraging news. That's all we have for today. We'll be back on Saturday for the second ODI. Until then, it's goodbye from all of us down here.
Asghar Afghan, Afghanistan captain: We are happy to win the first match of the series. It's (chasing) not a concern. Sometimes the wicket is like that and that's why we play carefully at times. Shahzad played very well today. He's (Nabi) okay, no problem.
Gulbadin Naib, Man of the Match: It's not easy to play in this kind of team. To perform well, it feels good to get the Man of the Match award. The wicket - it kept low. I planned to bowl slower ones and keep the lines tight.
William Porterfield, Ireland captain: If we did that (take early wickets) in the first 5-6 overs, we might have had a chance. We were short with the bat. No one struck it fluently. Someone had to put their hand up and go along with Paul. 230-240 would have been a good score here. I don't think it played slower than we expected. Dew played a factor towards the end. We were short with the bat. When you get into tight schedules, It's more a mental than anything. I don't think the pitch is going to be too dissimilar.
19:55 Local Time: Chasing a below-par score, the dangerous Afghanistan openers decided to bat sensibly and set the platform with a steady 43-run stand. Hazratullah Zazai, the star in the T20Is, started to up the ante and played one shot too many as he perished for 25. Mohammad Shahzad and Rahmat Shah added 47 runs for the second wicket without taking any undue risks. That's when Boyd Rankin struck twice in two overs as he removed both the set batsmen. The Ireland bowlers kept applying the pressure and reduced the Afghans from 90/1 to 104/4. However, Gulbadin Naib doused any hope of an Ireland win. After getting his eye in, Naib hit boundaries at will. He missed out on his fifty by four runs, but took his team close to the winning line. In the end, the birthday boy Najibullah Zadran hit two sixes in three deliveries to cap off the match. Afghanistan go 1-0 up in the 5-match series.
Dockrell to Najibullah, SIX, a mighty six to end the match! Tossed up delivery, Najibullah bends his back leg and slogs it over deep mid-wicket. Afghanistan win by 5 wickets!
Dockrell to Najibullah, no run, Dockrell shortens his length, slapped to mid-off
Dockrell to Najibullah, SIX, Najibullah gets off the mark in style. It's his birthday today! Fullish ball, Najibullah bludgeons it over long-on. Good swing of the bat
Najibullah Zadran, left handed bat, comes to the crease
Dockrell to Naib, out Caught&Bowled!! Naib misses his half-ton by 4 runs. End of a fine knock, though. A stump-to-stump line ball, Naib looks to knock it to mid-on, but only manages a leading edge. Dockrell dives forward in his followthrough to take a sharp catch. Naib c and b Dockrell 46(61) [4s-6 6s-1]
Dockrell to Naib, THATS OUT!! Caught&Bowled!!
Dockrell to Asghar Afghan, 1 run, darted on the pads, clipped to mid-wicket
END OF OVER 41
16 Runs
AFG: 152 - 4
4 0 0 2 6 4
Asghar Afghan
6 (16)
Gulbadin Naib
46 (60)
Rankin
9-2-48-2
Rankin to Naib, FOUR, high full toss above waist(?) and Naib manages to get some bat on it. Helped on its way to the fine leg fence. Not called as a no-ball, Rankin is lucky to get away with it
Rankin to Naib, SIX, a biggie! A short of length delivery, Naib clears his front leg and biffs it over deep mid-wicket. Got it off the meat. Deposited!
Rankin to Naib, 2 runs, toe-ends the pull and the ball beats mid-off to his right
Rankin to Naib, no run, short of length delivery, poked to cover
Rankin to Naib, no run, a drop! A shortish ball and Naib pulled it fiercely. Went quickly to Dockrell at mid-wicket and he couldn't hold onto it
Rankin to Naib, FOUR, Rankin goes full and Naib decides to take the aerial stroke. Waits for the ball to arrive and tonks it over mid-on
END OF OVER 40
2 Runs
AFG: 136 - 4
0 1 0 0 0 1
Gulbadin Naib
30 (54)
Asghar Afghan
6 (16)
Dockrell
4-0-18-0
Dockrell to Naib, 1 run, eased down to long-off
Dockrell to Naib, no run, solidly defended into the leg-side