Stats: Tim Murtagh and George Dockrell rescue Ireland with a record 10th wicket-stand

Afghanistan got hold of Ireland in the one-off Test match by dismissing the top order cheaply in the opening session. Paul Stirling took on the Afghan pacers with a 30-ball 26 that included six fours after the visitors elected to bat first. He added 37 for the opening wicket with his captain William Porterfield before edging one behind off Yamin Ahmadzai. That wicket triggered a collapse as the Irishmen were reduced to 69/7 before the Lunch break. Mohammad Nabi bagged three wickets while Rashid Khan picked a couple to put Ireland in tatters.

They lost their 8th wicket in the first over after the break but George Dockrell (39 runs) continued his batting form, adding 16 runs with James Cameron for the 9th wicket which was by then the 2nd highest stand of the innings. Tim Murtagh then joined Dockrell and kept frustrating the Afghan bowlers. The duo nearly played through the 2nd session by adding 87 runs for the final wicket; two runs more than what Ireland made for nine wickets.

Instances when the 10th wicket partnership doubled the score in Test cricket:

This was only the 5th instance when a 10th wicket partnership doubled the team score in a Test inning. Ashton Agar and Phil Hughes added 163 for the 10th wicket from 117/9. Their difference of 46 runs is the highest between 10th wicket stand and 1-9 wickets aggregate in a Test inning. The No.11 batsman Murtagh finished as the top-scorer for his team with an unbeaten 54. Thus, he became only the 11th player in Test history to be the team’s top-scorer while batting at No.11.

Murtagh batted 75 deliveries for his maiden Test fifty that was scored with the help of four fours and two sixes. He became the first Ireland player to hit a six in Test cricket. He also became the 3rd No.11 in Test history to be the only player to score fifty in a Test inning. Frederick Spofforth of Australia in the 1885 MCG Test against England and Shane Shillingford for Windies in the 2014 Kingston Test against New Zealand achieved this rare feat.

No.11 batsman top scoring in an innings in Test cricket:

(Stats as on March 15, 2019)

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