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Irish cricket team against Afghanistan in India in 2018–19
	Afghanistan	Ireland
Dates	21 February – 19 March 2019
Captains	Asghar Afghan	William Porterfield (Test & ODIs) Paul Stirling (T20Is)
Test series
Result	Afghanistan won the 1-match series 1–0
Most runs	Rahmat Shah (174)	Andrew Balbirnie (86)
Most wickets	Rashid Khan (7)	Stuart Thompson (3) Andy McBrine (3) James Cameron-Dow (3)
One Day International series
Results	5-match series drawn 2–2
Most runs	Asghar Afghan (226)	Andrew Balbirnie (215)
Most wickets	Mujeeb Ur Rahman (7)	George Dockrell (8)
Player of the series	Andrew Balbirnie (Ire)
Twenty20 International series
Results	Afghanistan won the 3-match series 3–0
Most runs	Hazratullah Zazai (204)	Paul Stirling (124)
Most wickets	Rashid Khan (11)	Boyd Rankin (6)
Player of the series	Mohammad Nabi (Afg)

The Ireland cricket team toured India in February and March 2019 to play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and a Test match against the Afghanistan cricket team. It was Ireland's first Test played overseas and the first Test match between the two sides. All of the fixtures took place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun. The ODI fixtures were part of Afghanistan's preparation for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. In January 2019, the fixtures were brought forward by two days, to avoid clashing with the Indian Premier League.

In the second T20I match, the Afghanistan team set several records. They made the highest team total, with 278 for 3, which included the highest partnership for any wicket, with Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani putting on 236 runs for the first wicket. Hazratullah Zazai scored 162 not out, the highest score for an Afghan batsman in a T20I fixture. Afghanistan went on to win the T20I series 3–0. The ODI series was drawn 2–2, after the second match finished as a no result.

Afghanistan won the one-off Test match by seven wickets to record their first victory in a Test match. They became the joint-second quickest, after England and Pakistan, to record their maiden win in Test cricket. Asghar Afghan, captain of the Afghanistan team said that "it is a historic day for Afghanistan, for Afghanistan people, for our team, for our cricket board". Ireland's captain, William Porterfield, said he was pleased how the five debutants performed and that Afghanistan were deserved winners. Afghanistan's all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, praised both the batting and the bowling from the team saying "it shows we are ready for Test cricket". Player of the match, Rahmat Shah, moved up to 89th place in the ICC Test Player Rankings, the highest-placed batsman for Afghanistan.

Squads

Test		ODIs		T20Is
Afghanistan	Ireland	Afghanistan	Ireland	Afghanistan	Ireland
Asghar Afghan (c) Javed Ahmadi Yamin Ahmadzai Sharafuddin Ashraf Nasir Jamal Ihsan Janat Rashid Khan Zahir Khan Ikram Alikhil Wafadar Momand Mohammad Nabi Waqar Salamkheil Rahmat Shah Hashmatullah Shahidi Mohammad Shahzad Sayed Shirzad	William Porterfield (c) Andrew Balbirnie James Cameron-Dow George Dockrell Andy McBrine Barry McCarthy James McCollum Tim Murtagh Kevin O'Brien Stuart Poynter Boyd Rankin Simi Singh Paul Stirling Stuart Thompson Lorcan Tucker	Asghar Afghan (c) Javed Ahmadi Aftab Alam Karim Janat Rashid Khan Zahir Khan Ikram Alikhil Fareed Malik Mohammad Nabi Gulbadin Naib Mujeeb Ur Rahman Rahmat Shah Hashmatullah Shahidi Mohammad Shahzad Samiullah Shinwari Sayed Shirzad Dawlat Zadran Najibullah Zadran Noor Ali Zadran Shapoor Zadran Hazratullah Zazai	William Porterfield (c) Andrew Balbirnie James Cameron-Dow Peter Chase George Dockrell Andy McBrine Barry McCarthy James McCollum Tim Murtagh Kevin O'Brien Stuart Poynter Boyd Rankin Simi Singh Paul Stirling Stuart Thompson Lorcan Tucker	Asghar Afghan (c) Sharafuddin Ashraf Usman Ghani Karim Janat Rashid Khan Zahir Khan Fareed Malik Mohammad Nabi Mujeeb Ur Rahman Ziaur Rahman Shafiqullah Shafaq Samiullah Shinwari Sayed Shirzad Najeeb Tarakai Najibullah Zadran Hazratullah Zazai	Paul Stirling (c) Andrew Balbirnie Peter Chase George Dockrell Shane Getkate Josh Little Andy McBrine Kevin O'Brien Stuart Poynter Boyd Rankin James Shannon Simi Singh Harry Tector Stuart Thompson Lorcan Tucker

Ahead of the ODI series, Stuart Thompson was added to Ireland's squad. Following the conclusion of the ODI series, Zahir Khan and Sayed Shirzad were both added to Afghanistan's Test squad.

T20I series

1st T20I

Ireland  132/6 (20 overs)	v	Afghanistan 136/5 (19.2 overs)
George Dockrell 34* (28) Mohammad Nabi 2/16 (4 overs)		Mohammad Nabi 49* (40) Boyd Rankin 2/39 (4 overs)

• Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
• George Dockrell and Stuart Poynter made Ireland's highest seventh-wicket partnership in T20Is (67).
• Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran made Afghanistan's highest sixth-wicket partnership in T20Is (86).

2nd T20I

Afghanistan  278/3 (20 overs)	v	Ireland 194/6 (20 overs)
Hazratullah Zazai 162* (62) Boyd Rankin 1/35 (4 overs)		Paul Stirling 91 (50) Rashid Khan 4/25 (4 overs)

• Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
• Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani (Afg) made the highest partnership for any wicket in T20Is (236).
• Hazratullah Zazai scored his first T20I century and made the highest score for an Afghan batsman in T20Is, and second highest individual score overall.
• Hazratullah Zazai also hit the most sixes in an innings in T20Is (16), with Afghanistan hitting the most sixes in an innings by a team in T20Is (22).
• Afghanistan's total of 278 runs was the highest by any team in a T20I.
• Paul Stirling made the highest individual total for Ireland in T20Is.

3rd T20I

Afghanistan  210/7 (20 overs)	v	Ireland 178/8 (20 overs)
Mohammad Nabi 81 (36) Boyd Rankin 3/53 (4 overs)		Kevin O'Brien 74 (47) Rashid Khan 5/27 (4 overs)

• Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
• Ziaur Rahman (Afg) made his T20I debut.
• Kevin O'Brien (Ire) scored his 1,000th run in T20Is.
• Rashid Khan (Afg) took a hat-trick and four wickets with four balls.

ODI series

1st ODI

Ireland  161 (49.2 overs)	v	Afghanistan 165/5 (41.5 overs)
Paul Stirling 89 (150) Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3/14 (10 overs)		Gulbadin Naib 46 (61) Boyd Rankin 2/48 (9 overs)

• Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
• This was the first ODI to be played at this venue.
• James McCollum (Ire) made his ODI debut.

2nd ODI

Afghanistan  250/7 (48.3 overs)	v	Ireland
Hazratullah Zazai 67 (43) George Dockrell 3/51 (9 overs)

• Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
• Rain during Afghanistan's innings prevented any further play.
• Ikram Alikhil, Sayed Shirzad (Afg) and James Cameron-Dow (Ire) all made their ODI debuts.

3rd ODI

Afghanistan  256/8 (50 overs)	v	Ireland 260/6 (49 overs)
Najibullah Zadran 104* (98) Boyd Rankin 2/56 (10 overs)		Andrew Balbirnie 145* (136) Dawlat Zadran 2/52 (10 overs)

• Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
• Najibullah Zadran (Afg) scored his first century in ODIs.
• Andrew Balbirnie scored the most sixes in an ODI innings for Ireland (8).

4th ODI

Afghanistan  223 (49.1 overs)	v	Ireland 114 (35.3 overs)
Mohammad Nabi 64 (85) James Cameron-Dow 3/32 (10 overs)		Kevin O'Brien 26 (57) Aftab Alam 4/25 (8 overs)

• Ireland won the toss and elected to field.

5th ODI

Afghanistan  216/6 (50 overs)	v	Ireland 219/5 (47.2 overs)
Asghar Afghan 82* (111) George Dockrell 2/46 (10 overs)		Paul Stirling 70 (88) Zahir Khan 2/55 (10 overs)

• Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
• Zahir Khan (Afg) made his ODI debut.

Only Test

Ireland	v	Afghanistan
172 (60 overs) Tim Murtagh 54* (75) Mohammad Nabi 3/36 (14 overs)		314 (106.3 overs) Rahmat Shah 98 (214) Stuart Thompson 3/28 (17.3 overs)
288 (93 overs) Andrew Balbirnie 82 (149) Rashid Khan 5/82 (34 overs)		149/3 (47.5 overs) Rahmat Shah 76 (122) James Cameron-Dow 1/24 (5.5 overs)

• Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
• This was the first Test to be played at this venue.
• Ihsanullah, Ikram Alikhil, Waqar Salamkheil (Afg), James Cameron-Dow, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, James McCollum and Stuart Poynter (Ire) all made their Test debuts.
• Rashid Khan became the first bowler for Afghanistan to take a five-wicket haul in Tests.
• This was Afghanistan's first win in Tests.

Notes

1. While five days of play were scheduled for the one-off Test, the match reached a result in four days.

References

1. ""Afghanistan series a major step forward for Irish cricket," says Balbirnie as tour dates confirmed". Cricket Ireland. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
2. "Afghanistan-Ireland series advanced to February 21". Cricbuzz. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
3. "Ireland to play Afghanistan Test match in 2019". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
4. "One-off Test: Afghanistan to host Ireland in Dehradun". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
5. "Ireland to face Afghanistan in first oversees Test in March". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
6. "Revised tour dates for Ireland v Afghanistan series released". Cricket Ireland. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
7. "Ireland-Afghanistan tour dates adjusted to avoid clash with IPL". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
8. "Afghanistan hammer highest T20 total". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
9. "Afghanistan set record T20 international total as they hit 278-3 to beat Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
10. "Hazratullah Zazai 162*, Afghanistan 278 - a record-breaking T20I". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
11. "Rashid's Five-for Helps Afghanistan Complete Whitewash Over Ireland". Network18 Media and Investments Ltd. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
12. "Ireland beat Afghanistan by five wickets to draw one-day international series in India". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
13. "Rahmat Shah and Isanullah see Afghanistan through to maiden test win". ESPNcricinfo. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
14. "'Historic day for Afghanistan, for our people, for our team' – Asghar Afghan". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
15. "'A historic day for Afghanistan' - Asghar Afghan". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
16. "Test - Day 4: Afghanistan hold off Ireland to secure maiden Test victory". Cricket Ireland. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
17. "'It shows we are ready for Test cricket' – Nabi on historic Afghanistan win". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
18. "Rahmat advances 88 places after scripting Afghanistan's maiden Test win". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
19. ^ "Mujeeb left out for Ireland Test, Shahzad out of T20Is". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
20. ^ "Ireland announce squads for Afghanistan series". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
21. "Cricket Ireland monitoring India-Pakistan tensions ahead of Afghanistan ODI series". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
22. "Afghanistan add Zahir Khan and Sayed Shirzad to Test squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
23. ^ "Nabi shines and records tumble as Afghanistan clinch T20I opener". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
24. "Hazratullah Zazai cuts loose, Afghanistan demolish Ireland, T20I record books". Cricket Country. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
25. "Hazratullah Zazai's night to remember". CricBuzz. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
26. "Afghanistan hit world record T20 score". SuperSport. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
27. "Afghanistan vs Ireland, 2nd T20I: Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani go berserk as Afghanistan smash T20I records". The Times of India. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
28. "Afghanistan smash record T20 score of 278 against Ireland". Sky Sports. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
29. "Record-breaking Zazai scripts Afghanistan victory". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
30. "'We're gearing up for bigger things' – Kevin O'Brien". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
31. "Rashid Khan takes four in four balls as Afghanistan win final T20 against Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
32. "3rd ODI: Najibullah Zadran's unbeaten century carries Afghanistan to 256/8". Cricket Country. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
33. "Ireland beat Afghanistan: Andrew Balbirnie hits 145 not out". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
34. "Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium To Host First Test Match Between Afghanistan And Ireland From March 15". The Times of India. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
35. "Test hangs in balance despite Rashid five-for". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
36. "Shah, Janat seal historic maiden Test victory for Afghanistan". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

External links

• Series home at ESPNcricinfo

• 2019 in Afghan cricket
• 2019 in Irish cricket
• International cricket competitions in 2018–19
• Afghanistan–Ireland sports relations
• Afghan cricket tours of India
• Irish cricket tours of India