Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan pulled off a brilliant show in the first T20I against Ireland on Friday, March 15 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. He broke a 14-year-old record in the match for Afghanistan. Unfortunately, his performance couldn’t lead them to a win in the first T20I.
Rashid Khan won the toss and opted to bowl first. They managed to restrict Ireland to 149 runs in the first innings. Harry Tector was the lone half-centurion in the innings, as Rashid spun a web around the batters. He dismissed Ireland skipper Paul Stirling, Curtis Campher and Gareth Delany. The spin wizard finished with bowling figures of 3/19 in four overs at an economy rate of 4.8.
With this spell, Rashid Khan broke a 14-year-old record for Afghanistan in T20Is. He recorded the best figures by an Afghan captain in T20Is. Nawroz Mangal held the record for 14 years, since February 2010, before Rashid took over. His bowling figures were 3/23 against Ireland in the final of the World T20 Qualifiers.
Best bowling figures by Afghanistan captain in T20Is
Rashid Khan – 3/19 against Ireland (Sharjah) in 2024
Nawroz Mangal – 3/23 against Ireland (Dubai) in 2010
Gulbadin Naib – 3/28 against Sri Lanka (Hangzhou) in 2023
Mohammad Nabi – 2/12 against Scotland (Sharjah) in 2013
Mohammad Nabi – 2/14 against Sri Lanka (Dubai) 2022
The 👑 Show! 🤩@RashidKhan_19 celebrated his comeback with an excellent bowling display as he returned with excellent figures of 3/19 to complete 350 wickets in International Cricket. 👏#AfghanAtalan | #AFGvIRE2024 pic.twitter.com/GlCiUiMHNk
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) March 15, 2024
Ireland goes one up in three-match T20I series against Afghanistan
Ireland won the first T20I by 38 runs against Afghanistan on March 15 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Benjamin White’s stunning performance powered them to go one up in the three-match series. He took 4/20 in his four overs to bowl Afghanistan out for 111 runs. Meanwhile, Joshua Little picked up three wickets, and Barry McCarthy took two. Mohammad Ishaq was the leading scorer for Afghanistan with 32 runs.
The second T20I will take place on Sunday, March 17 between Ireland and Afghanistan at Sharjah. The venue will also host the final match of the series on Monday, March 18.
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