Afghanistan v Ireland, Desert T20 final – Statistical Highlights

Afghanistan were crowned as the champions of the inaugural Desert T20 tournament hosted by UAE featuring the hosts, Afghans, and 6 other associate nations: Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands, Oman, Hong Kong and Namibia. After round-robin stage of two groups with 4 teams each, the semis and finals of the tournament were conducted on the same day and Afghanistan trumped Ireland by a 10-wicket margin in the finals to lift the trophy. Here we look at all the numbers recorded during final.

0 – Number of players have scored winning runs as captain in their final International match. Nawroz Mangal, who was playing in his final International game, missed out the chance.

1 – Mohammad Shahzad is now the first player to score two fifties in T20Is on the same day. He scored 80 vs Oman in the semis and 52* against Ireland in the final.

1 – The 10-wicket win by Afghanistan in the final is their first ever 10-wicket win in T20Is. This is also the first ever 10-wicket win for any team against Ireland in T20Is and also the first ever instance of a 10-wicket win in a T20I knockout game.

2 – Afghanistan’s 10-wicket win is only the 2nd instance of a team winning by 10 wickets in a Twenty20 tournament final. Sydney Sixers won by 10 wickets over Lions in Champions League T20 in 2012.

2 – Number of teams before Afghanistan who won all the T20Is they played in a tournament. (Min: 4 games) India won all the 5 matches they played in Asia Cup T20 in 2016 while Ireland won in all the 5 T20Is they played in 2011 ICC T20 qualifier but lost in a T20 in that tourney to Namibia as that game had only T20 status but not T20I. Afghanistan too played 5 games in this tourney and won in all. Their win over Namibia doesn’t count in T20Is.

4 – Number of fifties Mohammad Shahzad has scored in T20I knockout games, the most by any player. He went past Virat Kohli who has 3 fifties. Shahzad has 4 fifties in 5 innings in T20I knockouts while Kohli has 3 in 4.

5 – Number of teams including Afghanistan that have won a tournament final in T20I format twice. Ireland, Sri Lanka, India and West Indies are the other four. Afghanistan defeated Ireland in ICC World T20 qualifier in 2010.

8 – Consecutive wins in T20Is cricket for Afghanistan, the joint most for any team in this format. England in 2010-2011 and Ireland in 2012 too had 8 consecutive wins in T20Is.

47 – Balls taken by Afghanistan to finish off the chase, the fewest by any team in a Twenty20 tournament knockout. The previous lowest was 56 balls by Trinidad and Tobago over Jamaica in Stanford T20 2007/08 final.

65.45 – Afghanistan’s win percentage of 65.45 in T20Is is easily the best for any team. They have a win percentage of 68.8 in overall T20s, the 4th best for any team that has featured in more than 50 games in the format.

71 – Ireland’s total of 71/10 in the final is the lowest ever team total in a Twenty20 tournament final. Previous lowest was 91/10 by Jamaica in Stanford T20 2007/08 final against Trinidad and Tobago.

71 – Ireland’s total of 71 in this game is their 2nd lowest in T20I cricket. This is also the 2nd lowest for any team over Afghanistan in this format. Ireland were bowled out for 68 vs West Indies in 2010 while the lowest total for any team vs Afghanistan is 56 by Kenya in 2013.

73 – Number of balls remaining when Afghanistan chased down the target, the 4th biggest margin of win in terms of balls remaining for any team in T20I format.