Twitter Reactions: Ireland keep series alive with hard fought victory

Ireland kept their hopes alive in the 5 match ODI series against Afghanistan by winning the penultimate encounter by 3 wickets to level the 5 match series 1-1. Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai won the toss and opted to bat. The Asian minnows got off to the worst possible start losing their top 3 in the first 5 overs.

Kevin O’Brien was simply brilliant with his medium pacers and finished with exceptional figures of 4/26 in 7 overs. Jacob Mulder also bagged 3 wickets each as Afghanistan was tottering at 83/7 in the 24th over. The lower order led a dramatic comeback for Afghanistan Mohammad Nabi, Shafiqullah Shafiq and Dawlat Zadran who chipped in with valuable contributions.

While Nabi and Zadran scored 41 each, Shafiq chipped in with a well composed 42 which enabled them to post a competitive 220 on the board at the end of their allotted 50 overs. Andy McBrine was the other wicket taker for the Irish side as he chipped in with a couple of wickets.

Chasing the moderate target, Ireland openers William Porterfield and Paul Stirling got them off to a solid start. The duo shared a 48 runs partnership for the opening wicket which laid the foundation for a successful run chase. There was a mid-innings collapse as Ireland was reduced to 59/3 after being 49/0 at one stage.  Andrew Balbirnie

Kevin O’Brien who was brilliant with the ball in hand continued to impress even with the bat in hand. Along with Andrew Balbirnie, the duo shared 42 runs stand for the 5th wicket which again got them back on track.

Eventually, the 7th wicket partnership with O’Brien and Gary Wilson turned out to be the match-winning one as the Irish side reached the target with 3 overs to spare. O’Brien struck 8 fours and 2 sixes during his unbeaten innings of 72 which came in 60 deliveries. Wilson, on the other hand, played himself in and scored 41 which helped Ireland overhaul Afghanistan’s target.

Twitterati was active throughout the match and there were certain tweets which described the proceedings in the best possible manner. Here are some of the best tweets from the 4th ODI.