An all-round effort from star spinner Rashid Khan helped Afghanistan seal an automatic spot in the 2027 ODI Cricket World Cup with a three-wicket win over Ireland in the third ODI at Belfast. With this win on Monday, Afghanistan is 2-0 up in the five-match series. In the previous ODI World Cup in 2023, Afghanistan were promising, finishing sixth in the points table with four wins and five losses, narrowly short of contention for a semifinal spot.
The first match was abandoned without a ball bowled. With wins over defending champions England and former champions Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, they still had a tournament to be proud of.
Key Factors
Half of the Irish side was back in the hut for 89 runs in the 22nd over. Gurbaz kept one end steady, but he was the fifth wicket down for 71 in 77 balls, with two fours and five sixes at a score of 149. From there, Afghanistan sank to 176/7 in the 36th over and were in a tricky situation.
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field first. Rashid won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his match-winning performance.
