Live Cricket Score, Afghanistan vs Ireland, 3rd ODI at Greater NOIDA: IRE win by 6 wickets
Live Cricket Score, Afghanistan vs Ireland, 3rd ODI at Greater NOIDA: AFG lose plot; 5 down
Hello and welcome to live cricket score and updates of the third ODI of the five-match series between Afghanistan and Ireland at Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, India. We will bring you all the live cricket updates from the social media universe and keep you entertained on this Super Sunday (imagine Danny Morrison shouting the previous sentence on the top of his voice). Meanwhile, our correspondent Aditya Sahay will be covering the contest from the venue, sending us live photos from his overrated iPhone (yes, he prefers a smart phone over a DSLR), while I, Kaustubh S. Mayekar, will enlighten (for the better choice of words) you from the desk. LIVE Cricket Scorecard, Afghanistan vs Ireland, 3rd ODI at Greater NOIDA
So far, no good for Ireland. First, they lost the three-match T20I series 0-3. Then, they lost ODIs. Now, they are on the verge of losing another series, letting Afghanistan maintain a clean sheet. However, they were painfully close to winning the previous encounter. In the pursuit of 339 runs, they posted 304, thanks to Paul Stirling’s 95 off 80 inclusive of 9 fours and 5 sixes. To add fuel to the fire, he had taken a stunning six-wicket haul in the first innings (don’t you think 6-for has become a style statement of late?). Well, let me tell you that leg-spinner Rashid Khan went on to take a 6-for as well, overshadowing Stirling’s performance and sealing the deal.
Credit also goes to captain Asghar Stanikzai. He led from the front and scored his maiden international ton, helping Afghanistan register their highest ever total in the 50-over format.
In other news, Ireland will be expecting their talismanic all-rounder Kevin O’Brien to be in the best of his fitness, as he had missed the previous contest due to a hamstring niggle.
All in all, with three more matches to go, Ireland still have an opportunity to avenge the loss and claim the series.
Squads:
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Stanikzai (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Dawlat Zadran, Rashid Khan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Nasir Jamal, Gulbadin Naib, Shafiqullah Shafiq, Fareed Ahmad, Amir Hamza
Ireland: William Porterfield (c), Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Niall O’Brien, Gary Wilson (wk), Andrew Balbirnie, Kevin O’Brien, George Dockrell, Tim Murtagh, Boyd Rankin, Andy McBrine, Jacob Mulder, Barry McCarthy, Stuart Thompson, Craig Young