Afghanistan celebrate their World Cup qualification in style

Afghanistan cricket team created history as they qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup for the second consecutive time. They defeated Ireland by five wickets in the close encounter which went down the wire. Asghar Stanikzai was the hero for them who batted aggressively when the screws were tightening for Afghanistan. It was a sheer hard work and a little bit of luck which helped them qualify for the marquee event next year. However, after a close victory there were huge celebrations inside the dressing room as the whole squad lived the dream of travelling to England.

The shock victory of UAE over Zimbabwe by 3 runs brought a whole lot of context for the last Super Six game between Ireland and Afghanistan. The winner of the match was going to join Windies in the final and also would’ve qualified for the Cricket World Cup next year in England. The excitement was at its peak among the fans as many wanted Afghanistan to go through as they started the tournament as the favourites.

Elated celebrations in the dressing room

After opting to bat first, Ireland posted a competitive total of 210 runs in their 50 overs courtesy a fighting half-century from Paul Stirling and death overs assault from Kevin O Brien. Rashid Khan, as usual, was the best bowler for his team as he returned with the figures of 3/40 even as Dawlat Zadran scalped a couple of key wickets. During the chase, Mohammad Shahzad slammed a quickfire half-century which set the ball rolling for them.

However, things got extremely tricky in the end as the spinners took control of the game. They picked wickets at regular intervals and kept the Asian on the tenterhooks. The match went until the last over but the experience of their skipper Asghar Stanikzai prevailed who, despite struggling due to his recent appendix operation, played some amazing strokes and delivered victory for his team and helped them qualify for the big event next year.

The celebrations after the qualification were natural as they along with their team manager lived the dream once again. They will be travelling to England next year which was a dream come true for them even as the whole country would be celebrating the occasion whole night.

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