Twitter Reactions: Najibullah, Rashid power Afghanistan to series-levelling victory in 4th T20I

Najibullah Zadran played a match-winning knock of 50 off just 24 balls.

By CricTracker Staff verified

View : 1.4K

3 Min Read

Afghanistan
info
Najibullah Zadran. (Photo Source: ICC Twitter handle)

Afghanistan have made an excellent comeback in the last two T20Is against Ireland to level the series 2-2 and the decider is expected to be a mouth-watering contest. The fourth T20I was reduced to 11 overs per side due to rain, and Ireland opted to bowl first after winning the toss.

Hazratullah Zazai was removed early for six while Rahmanullah Gurbaz gave the much-needed impetus at the start with a flying innings of 24 off 13 balls which included three fours and two sixes. However, after the blistering start, an array of wickets fell quickly for Afghanistan and they were reduced to 76 for 5 in the eighth over. Rashid Khan and Najibullah Zadran joined hands and struck an excellent 50-run partnership for the sixth wicket to get the innings on track.

Najibullah Zadran cut losses with a blistering half-century

Zadran reached his half-century off just 22 balls which included four fours and three sixes while Rashid took the onus of finishing the innings. The all-rounder ended up with an unbeaten 10-ball 31 including three sixes and a four as Afghanistan got to 132 for 6 in their 11 overs which was more than competitive. Gareth Delany was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland with 3 for 33 in his three overs.

In reply, Ireland openers Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie got off the blocks quickly and started with a blaze. However, Fareed Ahmad Malik’s introduction changed the game on its head as he picked up three wickets in his two overs. Wickets kept tumbling and the lower-middle order couldn’t hang around for a long time while George Dockrell gave some glimpses of hope for the Irish side.

Dockrell ran out of partners and remained unbeaten on 41 off 27 balls with four fours and two sixes in the end, as Ireland fell short by 27 runs. Naveen-ul-Haq and Rashid picked up two wickets each and the latter was awarded the the Player of the Match for his all-round display.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to it:

 

Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:

googletelegraminstagramwhatsappyoutubethreadstwitter

Download Our App

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS and Google Play Store
AfghanistanIrelandNajibullah ZadranRashid Khan