Irish cricket team against Afghanistan in India in 2018–19
The Ireland cricket team toured India in February and March 2019 to play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and a Test match against the Afghanistan cricket team.[1][2] It was Ireland's first Test played overseas[3] and the first Test match between the two sides.[4] All of the fixtures took place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun.[5] The ODI fixtures were part of Afghanistan's preparation for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[6] In January 2019, the fixtures were brought forward by two days, to avoid clashing with the Indian Premier League.[7]
| Irish cricket team against Afghanistan in India in 2018–19 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Afghanistan | Ireland | ||
| Dates | 21 February – 19 March 2019 | ||
| Captains | Asghar Afghan | William Porterfield (Test & ODIs) Paul Stirling (T20Is) | |
| Test series | |||
| Result | Afghanistan won the 1-match series 1–0 | ||
| Most runs | Rahmat Shah (174) | Andrew Balbirnie (86) | |
| Most wickets | Rashid Khan (7) | Stuart Thompson (3) Andy McBrine (3) James Cameron-Dow (3) | |
| One Day International series | |||
| Results | 5-match series drawn 2–2 | ||
| Most runs | Asghar Afghan (226) | Andrew Balbirnie (215) | |
| Most wickets | Mujeeb Ur Rahman (7) | George Dockrell (8) | |
| Player of the series | Andrew Balbirnie (Ire) | ||
| Twenty20 International series | |||
| Results | Afghanistan won the 3-match series 3–0 | ||
| Most runs | Hazratullah Zazai (204) | Paul Stirling (124) | |
| Most wickets | Rashid Khan (11) | Boyd Rankin (6) | |
| Player of the series | Mohammad Nabi (Afg) | ||
In the second T20I match, the Afghanistan team set several records. They made the highest team total, with 278 for 3,[8] which included the highest partnership for any wicket, with Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani putting on 236 runs for the first wicket.[9] Hazratullah Zazai scored 162 not out, the highest score for an Afghan batsman in a T20I fixture.[10] Afghanistan went on to win the T20I series 3–0.[11] The ODI series was drawn 2–2, after the second match finished as a no result.[12]
Afghanistan won the one-off Test match by seven wickets to record their first victory in a Test match.[13] They became the joint-second quickest, after England and Pakistan, to record their maiden win in Test cricket.[14] Asghar Afghan, captain of the Afghanistan team said that "it is a historic day for Afghanistan, for Afghanistan people, for our team, for our cricket board".[15] Ireland's captain, William Porterfield, said he was pleased how the five debutants performed and that Afghanistan were deserved winners.[16] Afghanistan's all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, praised both the batting and the bowling from the team saying "it shows we are ready for Test cricket".[17] Player of the match, Rahmat Shah, moved up to 89th place in the ICC Test Player Rankings, the highest-placed batsman for Afghanistan.[18]
Squads
| Test | ODIs | T20Is | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Afghanistan[19] |  Ireland[20] | Afghanistan[19] | Ireland[20] | Afghanistan[19] | Ireland[20] |
Ahead of the ODI series, Stuart Thompson was added to Ireland's squad.[21] Following the conclusion of the ODI series, Zahir Khan and Sayed Shirzad were both added to Afghanistan's Test squad.[22]
T20I series
1st T20I
v | ||
- Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
- George Dockrell and Stuart Poynter made Ireland's highest seventh-wicket partnership in T20Is (67).[23]
- Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran made Afghanistan's highest sixth-wicket partnership in T20Is (86).[23]
2nd T20I
v | ||
- Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani (Afg) made the highest partnership for any wicket in T20Is (236).[24]
- Hazratullah Zazai scored his first T20I century and made the highest score for an Afghan batsman in T20Is, and second highest individual score overall.[25]
- Hazratullah Zazai also hit the most sixes in an innings in T20Is (16),[26] with Afghanistan hitting the most sixes in an innings by a team in T20Is (22).[27]
- Afghanistan's total of 278 runs was the highest by any team in a T20I.[28]
- Paul Stirling made the highest individual total for Ireland in T20Is.[29]
3rd T20I
v | ||
- Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
- Ziaur Rahman (Afg) made his T20I debut.
- Kevin O'Brien (Ire) scored his 1,000th run in T20Is.[30]
- Rashid Khan (Afg) took a hat-trick and four wickets with four balls.[31]
ODI series
1st ODI
2nd ODI
v | ||
- Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- Rain during Afghanistan's innings prevented any further play.
- Ikram Alikhil, Sayed Shirzad (Afg) and James Cameron-Dow (Ire) all made their ODI debuts.
3rd ODI
v | ||
- Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- Najibullah Zadran (Afg) scored his first century in ODIs.[32]
- Andrew Balbirnie scored the most sixes in an ODI innings for Ireland (8).[33]
4th ODI
v | ||
- Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
5th ODI
Only Test
v | ||
- Ireland won the toss and elected to bat.
- Ihsanullah, Ikram Alikhil, Waqar Salamkheil (Afg), James Cameron-Dow, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, James McCollum and Stuart Poynter (Ire) all made their Test debuts.
- Rashid Khan became the first bowler for Afghanistan to take a five-wicket haul in Tests.[34]
- This was Afghanistan's first win in Tests.[35]