Ireland celebrated a historic victory on Friday to secure their first Test match by beating Afghanistan by six wickets in Abu Dhabi.
The triumph marked the end of a difficult seven-game losing streak for the Irish team.
Captain Andy Balbirnie played a pivotal role, leading from the front with an unbeaten 58. The team successfully chased down a modest target of 111 in the final session on the third day.
Reflecting on the achievement, Balbirnie expressed his excitement, saying: “We’ve made history. The monkey is on our back and it’s very special.”
He acknowledged the nerves in the team, especially when they were on a shaky 13-3, and stressed the importance of the win for a team that included several players unfamiliar with Test cricket.
Ireland’s journey in Test cricket began in 2018 with a defeat against Pakistan, which makes this victory even more special for the team.
Resuming their second innings at 134-3, Afghanistan were eventually dismissed for 218, with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi top scoring with 55.
Despite Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s spirited debut performance of 46 runs, Mark Adair contributed to his tally of eight wickets in the match, while Craig Young and Barry McCarthy also claimed three wickets each.
Faced with a target of 111 to win, Ireland struggled early with three wickets for just 13 runs. However, Balbirnie’s resilient innings and a crucial partnership of 72 with Lorcan Tucker led the team to a historic victory.
Commenting on the challenges they faced during the match, Balbirnie highlighted the team’s disappointment with their batting performance on the first day.
Afghanistan Shahidi acknowledged the positive aspects of the match, particularly praising Gurbaz’s debut and Naveed Zadran’s commendable performance with the ball.
Irish fast bowler Adair expressed his excitement, saying: “Test cricket is quite difficult. I think we have a really good bowling group.”
With the Test match triumph behind them, the two teams will now embark on a series of three One Day Internationals and three T20 matches as part of their multi-format series.
