Atal, Zadran's hundreds blow away Ireland as Afghanistan seal series with 42-run win

Afghanistan took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series against Ireland with a comfortable 42-run victory in the fourth ODI on Wednesday, August 12, at Civil Service Cricket Club, Belfast. After being put in to bat first, Afghanistan posted their highest ever ODI score of 343/9 in their allotted 50 overs, riding on centuries from Sediqullah Atal and Ibrahim Zadran (107 off 118).

For Ireland, Byron McDonough (3/84, 10 overs) emerged as the pick of the bowlers with a three-wicket haul, while Mark Adair (2/60) and Gavin Hoey (2/71) scalped two wickets each.

In the second innings, Ireland gave a spirited reply to the massive score, with Andrew Balbirnie (109 off 119) scoring a magnificent century, while Curtis Campher (84 off 46) also played a crucial innings. However, they eventually fell 43 runs short of their target as Yamin Ahmadzai (4/71) and Rashid Khan (3/49) ran through their batting.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Sediqullah Atal was adjudged Player of the Match for his magnificent innings of 143 (120), laced with 17 fours and four sixes. He got involved in a massive 231-run stand for the second wicket off 220 balls alongside Ibrahim Zadran after Afghanistan lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz (12 off 10) cheaply. The duo registered the third-highest partnership in ODIs for Afghanistan.

Courtesy of their partnership, Afghanistan posted a humongous score on the board, which proved too much for the Irish batting lineup.

Turning Point

Ireland were in the run chase courtesy of a 73-run stand for the fifth wicket off 57 balls between Andrew Balbirnie and Curtis Campher. The duo took their team to 215/4 after 40 overs, needing 129 more runs to win off the last 60 balls. However, the golden arm of Rashid Khan struck at a crucial time for Afghanistan, dismissing Balbirnie for 109.

The wicket became a huge turning point in the game as it closed all doors for an Irish comeback, and they capitulated under the scoreboard pressure.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Rahmat Shah (Afghanistan): 

[On Afghanistan’s record ODI total and the second-wicket partnership] Yeah, I think Sediqullah Atal and Ibrahim (Zadran) did very well. They assessed the condition early and before we are coming here, we had a target, must make 300 plus runs. So finally, we achieved this target. [On moving down the batting order to number eight] Yeah, usually I’m coming on the top order. But I think the team requirement. We not broke this momentum till in the end. So that’s why my number a little bit down. [On the second-wicket partnership between Sediqullah Atal and Ibrahim Zadran] Yeah, I think I already mentioned, they assessed the condition really well and they just not try hard. They just play their own games like waiting for the loose ball and keep build the partnerships. [On Ireland reaching 300 despite Afghanistan taking early wickets] Yeah, (Andrew) Balbirnie played really well and (Curtis) Campher actually played well in the middle, we just take early wickets. So that’s why on that time, they break the momentum. So just want to continue this momentum and that’s why average like 10 to 11 runs per over. So it’s really hard in this pitch and also you (don't) have not wickets in hand. That’s why it’s a little bit hard.

Losing Captain, Paul Stirling (Ireland): 

[On Afghanistan's second-wicket partnership] I think full credit to Afghanistan. I think that second wicket partnership in the first innings really took the game away from us and they had the opportunity, which you don't have too often in one-day cricket, to bat a side out of the game, and they effectively did that without entirely doing it. [On Ireland pulling the game back with wickets towards the end of Afghanistan's innings] Yeah, look, I think they were on for 370 or 380, and I think we clawed it back quite well. Once we took those two wickets, Garpo again breaking that partnership, I think we actually did really well. And you saw in the back of our innings as well with the bat, how many runs you can score quickly. So yeah, we just fell short. [On the frustration of Ireland being competitive only in patches across the three games] I suppose it's been quite frustrating over the three games that, again, I mentioned that we were in patches, but we did a lot of good stuff, but not quite enough often. [On the approach to chasing such a big score alongside Andy Balbirnie] Yeah, that's the fun of it. You have to adapt. You know, you can be chasing 300, you can be chasing 350. Generally, I like to take the positive option and try and take on the bowlers. I think it probably offered a little bit as well. So that was the tricky bit. [On how the pitch influenced his approach during the chase] I think usually when you chase 350, you think it's a completely flat pitch where you can just bat and play the ball along the ground and you'll get the runs that way. But it felt like I had to take some of the risk today and take the bowlers on, and it was starting to work and then got out.