A pulsating run-chase orchestrated by Kevin O’Brien ensured that the final T20I from Dehradun went down to the wire as Ireland’s bid to claim a victory in the third match of the series and thus avoid a whitewash against Afghanistan was sustained to the last.
In the final analysis the tourists fell 32 runs short, as the task of hauling in Afghanistan’s immense 210-7 proved just too much. Kevin O’Brien’s brilliant 47-ball 74 underscored a spirited chase but Rashid Khan was at his supreme best, claiming a hat-trick to suffocate the Irish middle-order and take his team to a third straight win in the series.
It proved to be a masterstroke to hold back Rashid until the second half of the innings, and an epic tussle between O’Brien and the world’s No.1-ranked T20 bowler was finally settled by the bowler, who induced a thin edge for the keeper, Shafiqullah Shafaq, to take a smart low catch.
It was a somewhat anti-climactic end to a classic innings by the Irish opener and with his departure went Ireland’s hopes of hauling in a famous victory. Thereafter Rashid was irrepressible, and he duly claimed his first T20I hat-trick with the first three deliveries of his third over.
The final scoreline belies the tightness of the match. O’Brien was dominant from the start, pumping Zia Ur Rehman over mid-wicket with a short-arm pull, and repeating the shot two balls later, this time along the ground. After three overs, Ireland were on 32-1 and any sense that Afghanistan would cruise to victory had been shelved.
