Rashid Khan’s all-round performance steers Afghanistan to 2-1 lead

Afghanistan 229-7 (Khan 60no) beat
Ireland 150 (Khan 4-21) by 79 runs
Fourth One-Day International in Belfast
Scorecard

Rashid Khan starred with both the bat and ball as Afghanistan defeated Ireland by 79 runs in the fourth One-Day International in Belfast to secure an unassailable lead of 2-1 in the series.

Khan scored an unbeaten 60 in the first innings and backed it up with a four-wicket haul to take the game away from the home side.

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. They lost both the openers for 54 runs. Peter Chase (2-52) and Andy McBrine (2-29) struck twice each and Afghanistan were reeling by 109 for six with only Rahmat Shah (48) making a sizable contribution.

However, Mohammad Nabi (50) and Khan (60 not out) added 57 runs for the seventh wicket to take the total past the 150-run mark.

Khan was the dominating among the two as his 44-ball knock consisted of five boundaries and two sixes. With another 63-run stand between Khan and Mirwais Ashraf (14 not out), Afghanistan reached 229 for seven in the 50 overs.

Ireland lost William Porterfield (16) and Ed Joyce (12) early in the chase, both being run-out following which Shah (2-30) ended Sean Terry’s (9) and Stuart Poynter’s (15) stay.

Kevin O’Brien (34) and Paul Stirling (31) added 63 runs for the fifth wicket but Khan (4-21) ran through the middle and lower order of Ireland, dismissing them for 150 runs. The 79-run victory helped the visitors secure an unassailable lead of 2-1 in the series with one more game to go.