Afghanistan chased down the target of 149 on the fourth day of their only test match against Ireland on Monday.
On a very flat track at Dehradun, Irish skipper William Porterfield elected to bat first in a bid to heap the pressure of the fourth innings on Afghanistan. The ploy backfired as Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan skittled Ireland for 172 before tea on the first day.
In a sharp contrast to the Irish batsmen, the Afghans used the friendly pitch to their advantage and batted brilliantly in well-timed partnerships. Rahmat Shah showed good temperament in his innings of 93 that came off 216 balls. Though Tim Murtagh and Stuart Thompson kept the run-rate in check, Afghanistan managed to gain a comfortable lead of 142 by the end of their innings.
On the very second ball of his second innings, Porterfield departed for a duck. With over three days to go, defeat was already looming at large for Ireland. However, Andrew Balbirnie and Kevin O Brien helped the Irish in delaying the inevitable by scoring a half-century each on the third day.
Khan was in the limelight once again as he bagged five wickets and Afghanistan dismissed Ireland for 288 . At stumps on the third day, Porterfield might have fancied his chances when the chasing side lost opener Mohammad Shehzad with just 5 runs on the board after 10 overs.
When play resumed on the fourth day, Shah repeated his brilliance to score 76 from 126 deliveries and chased down the target shortly before lunch. This win must bring great relief for Afghanistan in the light of their crushing defeat at Bangalore last summer.
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