{ "id": "139442", "author": "26", "cnmid": "", "title": "Ireland Beat Afghanistan To Claim Maiden Test Victory", "lang": "en", "series": "1", "cup_year": "2024", "article_type": "General", "excerpt": "Ireland finally won their first Test match on Friday when they defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in Abu Dhabi, ending a streak of seven successive losses.\r\n", "subtype": null, "editor1": "

Ireland finally won their first Test match on Friday when they defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in Abu Dhabi, ending a streak of seven successive losses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Captain Andy Balbirnie led from the front with an undefeated 58 as Ireland reached their modest target of 111 in the final session of the third day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Ireland had played their first Test back in 2018 when they were defeated by Pakistan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"We're absolutely excited. We've created history. The monkey is off the back and it's very special to do that," said Balbirnie whose team were wobbling at 13-3 at one stage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"Obviously there were nerves; we were chasing our first win. You ask this whole group how special this is. A lot of our guys didn't get to play Test cricket. Hopefully people back home want to be Test cricketers."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Afghanistan resumed their second innings Friday on 134-3 before they were dismissed for 218.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi top scored with 55 while Rahmanullah Gurbaz, making his Test debut, hit 46.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Mark Adair picked up three wickets to finish with eight for the match. Craig Young and Barry McCarthy also claimed three apiece.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Gurbaz, better known for his flamboyant and explosive shot-making in limited overs cricket, clubbed the only two sixes of the innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Chasing just 111 for victory, Ireland were in trouble with three wickets down for just 13 runs with 18-year-old fast bowler Naveed Zadran clean-bowling opener Peter Moor and Curtis Campher, both without scoring.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Balbirnie denied the teenager a hat-trick but Harry Tector was soon caught behind by Gurbaz off Nijat Masood for two.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Balbirnie and Paul Stirling, who both played in Ireland's debut Test in 2018, briefly steadied dressing room nerves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Stirling was then caught in the slips off left-arm spinner Zia-ur-Rehman for 14 as Ireland slipped to 39-4 just after tea.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

However, Balbirnie moved watchfully to his fourth Test half-century, which came from 86 balls, ably supported by Lorcan Tucker (27 not out) in a crucial winning partnership of 72.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"I think the first day, when we were batting, we let ourselves down," said Shahidi.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"The Irish seamers were bowling very well but we threw our wickets away."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

He added: "We have some positives. Gurbaz was very positive on debut. Naveed had had a good Test against Sri Lanka, and in this match also he did very well."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Irish fast bowler Adair said he was "buzzing" with the victory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"Test cricket is pretty difficult. I think we've got a really good bowling group," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Also Read: <\/b> Join Our WhatsApp Channel For World Cup Updates<\/a><\/p>

The two teams will now play three one-day internationals and three T20 games as part of their multi-format series.<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Ireland-vs-Afghanistan-Test.jpg", "alt_img": "Ireland Beat Afghanistan To Claim Maiden Test Victory", "alt_title": "Afghanistan v Ireland in UAE, 2024 ", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Ireland Beat Afghanistan To Claim Maiden Test Victory On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Ireland finally won their first Test match on Friday when they defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in Abu Dhabi, ending a streak of seven successive losses.\r\n", "seo_keywords": " Afghanistan Vs Ireland", "tag": null, "tagging": " Afghanistan Vs Ireland", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "ireland-beat-afghanistan-to-claim-maiden-test-victory", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "1420", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2024-03-02 08:14:03", "updated": "2024-03-02 08:14:03", "img_from": "Image Source: Google", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Ireland Beat Afghanistan To Claim Maiden Test Victory", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "1", "jio_date": "2024-03-02 08:14:03", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/ireland-beat-afghanistan-to-claim-maiden-test-victory-139442" }