Afghanistan 302 for 4 (Grace 143*, Attal 98, McCarthy 3-37) won Ireland 298 for 7 (Kampfer 96, Tector 53, Umarzai 3-74) with six wickets.
Rahmat, who finished with 143 not out, added 201 for Atal after Afghanistan were reduced to 22 for 2 inside six overs with Liam McCarthy accounting for both openers. This is now the highest third-wicket partnership for Afghanistan surpassing the 184-run stand between Rahmat and Hashmatullah Shahidi against the same opposition in Abu Dhabi in 2021.
But ODIs offer the luxury of rebuilding innings for batting sides and Rahmat and Atal have resorted to age-old methods of accumulating runs by absorbing pressure early and unleashing it only when the time is right.
Afghanistan were 49 for 2 in the 15th over with a required run rate of around seven and a half. The sight of legspinner Gavin Hoey sent Rahmat and Atal into action as the former sent a tracked half for a six over mid-off on the first ball and the latter smashed it on a boundary later in the over.
From then on, the two regularly smashed boundaries to close the gap between the current and required run rate, which had hovered around seven throughout the innings and came just under run level in the 47th over after Azmatullah Omarzai smashed Jai Mundra for a six and a four in the first two balls.
ODI matches are often won by teams who win the overs and Rahmat and Atal made sure Afghanistan did just that by scoring risk-free runs. They milked good balls around the puck to spin the shot and sent poor balls out to bounds. They added 201 runs in 210 balls and crucially denied Ireland any success. Ireland, on the other hand, have lost three while amassing 148 at this stage.
The absence of Mark Adair, due to injury concerns, compounded the hosts’ woes as Paul Sterling rotated his bowlers regularly but none were able to make a breakthrough.
It took a sensational diving by Cade Carmichael in the 41st over to break the stand as Attal – who had missed consecutive centuries by just two runs – looked to pull McCarthy out of the park. This dismissal promoted Umarzai with 76 runs needed in nearly nine overs and the all-rounder contributed 24 off 14 balls, smashing three fours and a six, until he was caught at short third off Mundra after he had already smashed it for a six and a four and made Afghanistan’s victory certain.
However, Rahmat continued to play the skipper’s stroke from the other end as he reached his maiden century, his first in the format since January 2021 against the same opposition, off 109 balls. He went on to record his highest ODI score by making 143 off 133 balls, which included 13 fours and two sixes, and took his team over the line with a boundary on the penultimate ball in the 49th over which led to raucous celebrations by the Afghanistan supporters some of whom poured onto the field.
It was a cold morning at Stormont with dark clouds in the sky when Rahmat decided to take a run and the Afghanistan fast bowlers used the conditions to their advantage with disciplined line and length bowling. The opening pair of Umarzai and Ziaur Rahman moved the ball into the air and off the surface, forcing Ireland to be cautious. In just the fourth over, the first boundary of the match was struck as Sterling caressed a soaring pass from Omarzai across the point and followed it up with an adventurous flash through to third to put the hosts in the driving seat.
Campher’s late attack added 101 points to the hosts’ total in the last 10 overs, with the all-rounder installing crucial stands of 72 and 64 with George Dockrell, who returned to the side and scored 31 from 35, and Jordan Neil, who made 23 from 19.
Campher smashed seven fours and four sixes in his 84-ball 96. He took 61 balls to make his maiden fifty but accelerated quickly from there. There were hopes in the Irish camp that he had done enough to achieve a satisfying victory, but Afghanistan proved otherwise, expanding its dominance.
Ehsan Iftikhar Naji is a cricket journalist based in Lahore
