On the first day, Ireland’s Mark Adair took five wickets while playing with the ball.
Ireland concluded on 100/4 at stumps at Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi on the first day of the one-and-only Test match between Afghanistan and Ireland, trailing the latter by 55 runs. Afghanistan was bowled out for 155 in 54.5 overs earlier in the day after Mark Adair claimed 5/39 in 16.5 overs.
After their skipper won the toss and decided to bat first, the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led team didn’t get off to a good start as opener Noor Ali Zadran (7 off 27) was cheaply removed by Adair in just the seventh over of the day. Dismantling Rahmat Shah’s stumps was just another blow delivered by the right-arm seamer.
Captain Shahidi came to the crease after losing the first two wickets and combined with Ibrahim Zadran to score 55 runs for the third wicket, stabilizing the innings. That was the extent of their cooperation, though, when Baary McCarthy fired the Afghanistan skipper to sever ties.
Zadran, on the other hand, carried on with his innings and made an outstanding half-century (53 off 83). Still, other batsmen could not hold him up, as Nasir Jamal (0 off 8) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (5 off 20) also went cheaply, leaving Afghanistan on 90/6. With the help of six fours, Karim Janat scored an undefeated 41 (78) to preserve some pride for his team and restrict Afghanistan to 155 in their opening innings.
Curtis Campher’s half-century was lost.
Ireland’s response had a similarly poor start to the first innings, losing their first two wickets, Andy Balbirnie (2 off12) and Peter Moor (12 off29), with 32 runs on the board. But following the two early strikes, Curtis Campher (49 off 64) and Harry Tector (32 off 64) scored 60 runs for the third wicket. With a strong partnership, Afghanistan was able to rally after Zia-ur-Rehman, a left-arm spinner, dismissed Campher and Theo van Woerkom, leaving Ireland at 94/4 after 28.2 overs. With Harry Tector (32* off 64) and Paul Stirling (2* off 9) at the crease, they eventually concluded Day 1 on 100/4.
