KABUL (SW) – In a thrilling T20 encounter, Afghanistan smashed a number of records to overpower Ireland by 84 runs in the second match of the three-match series.
At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in India, the game saw the biggest team total in all T20 cricket, the second-highest individual score in T20Is, the most sixes by a batsman in a T20I innings and the biggest partnership for any wicket in all T20s.
Hazratullah Zazai, hit a 44-ball T20 hundred and the joint-fastest T20 fifty – which included six sixes in an over. He hit a total of 16 sixes. His opening partner Usman Ghani, who scored 73 at a strike rate of 152.08, went almost unnoticed in a world-record partnership of 236, the ESPN reported.
He was crowned as man of the match.
Chasing the target, Ireland were restricted by the disciplined spin bowling by Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Zadran. Rashid picked up four wickets, the pick of them a googly that zipped through Andy Balbirnie before he could bring his bat down to cut. Afghanistan won by 84 runs.
With this victory, Afghanistan has won the series, and Sunday's final match in T20 series is now a dead rubber before the five-match one-day series between the countries starts on Thursday. Following the one-day series, the sides will then play a Test match at the same Dehradun venue starting on 15 March.
ENDS
