Ibrahim Zadran, Atal tons helps Afghanistan clinch ODI series

Afghanistan flexed their batting might to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series against Ireland on Wednesday in Belfast, with one match still to play.

Having already secured a direct entry to the 2027 World Cup, Afghanistan batted like a side seeking a template shift. And they managed to do so quite spectacularly, courtesy of centuries from Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal that formed the bedrock of their imposing 343 for 9 after Ireland put them in.

Ireland didn't give up in response, but that didn't make their run chase any more spectacular. They were bowled out for 301 in 48 overs, never once challenging Afghanistan. They eventually fell 42 runs short, with Andy Balbirnie's 109 being scant consolation.

Ireland had the ideal start as they removed in-form Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the top-scorer from Monday's thriller, in just the second over. Atal and Zadran put on 231, the highest second-wicket partnership for Afghanistan in ODIs, and quickly sent them on a leather hunt for the majority of the innings. Along the way, they eclipsed a 16-year record held by Karin Sadiq and Mohammad Shahzad, who put on 218 against Scotland.

Zadran played copy book cricket for much of his knock, relying on strike rotation. Atal was the more enterprising, using his feet regularly to hit down town against legspinner Gavin Hoey. In order to prevent Gavin Hoey from dictating terms, as he had done in the previous game with a four-for, it appeared to be a deliberate plan to throw him off his lengths.

Zadran got to his half-century off 56 balls, before picking up the pace. The next fifty came only a tad quicker - off 51 - as Zadran raised his seventh ODI century, proving to be rock solid and technically adept at countering steep bounce from the tall Byron McDonough and Liam McCarthy, who replaced left-arm seamer Jai Moondra.

Atal marked his 25th birthday with a century, showing great presence of mind in the middle overs with his ability to pick boundaries regularly, especially against spin at the slightest sign of the innings slipping into autopilot. He kept adding new energy to put the bowlers under pressure again.

At one point, it seemed like Atal was well on his way to 150 and beyond, until a miscued slog down to long-on cut his innings short on 143. He had hit 17 fours and four sixes by that point. Cameos from Darwish Rasooli and Rashid Khan then held them inch closer to the 350-run mark, the last ten overs producing just 86 as Afghanistan slipped a touch from a commanding 257 for 2.

Ireland began their reply sedately, showing hardly any urgency needed to surmount a total this big. The first eight overs brought them just 25 as Yamin Ahmadzai and Azmatullah Omarzai made the ball talk in an impressive opening burst of swing bowling. Paul Stirling was routinely beaten and Balbirnie largely playing within himself in the hope of taking the chase deep.

The problem with that strategy was it didn't account for Rashid's threat through the middle overs. Even though two of his three wickets came towards the end of his spell, Rashid was accurate and kept the pressure up. Stirling fell in the 11th over at the first sign of spin as mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar trapped him lbw. Cade Carmichael followed suit.

Harry Tector then put on 76 for the third wicket with Balbirnie, but once Tector holed out to deep backward square, the innings completely derailed as the asking rate mounted. Ireland were never in it, and their troubles were exacerbated further with Rashid returning to remove centurion Balbirnie and Ben Calitz off consecutive deliveries..

With the chase all but gone, Curtis Campher channelled his T20 game by bashing an unreal 84 off 46, an innings that comprised some of the most uncomplicated swing-through-the-line hitting that brought him eight fours and five sixes. When he was the ninth man out in the 48th, he'd helped Ireland nudge past 300 when it looked at one stage as if they might lose by a bigger margin than that.