Rashid stars as Afghanistan secure direct qualification for 2027 ODI World Cup

A match that swung wildly from one side to the other eventually ended with Afghanistan clinching a thriller to seal their spot in the 2027 ODI World Cup in Southern Africa, courtesy of their global superstar, Rashid Khan.

At 176 for 7, Ireland were more than in with a sniff of defending 206. But Rashid held firm, making 37 of the most valuable runs to help his team cross the line. Rashid's batting efforts topped up a typically aggressive spell of legspin that fetched him 3 for 44 earlier in the afternoon, a spell that turned the tables on Ireland along with mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar.

Trailing 1-0 down in the five-match series, Ireland put up a spirited defence. From 97 for 2, Gavin Hoey bowled a terrific spell of legspin himself. He lulled batters with flight, troubled them with dip and sharp turn and suddenly found himself in with a chance of delivering a knockout blow.

He broke the game open with 4 for 34 in the middle overs, including the prized scalp of opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 77. Mark Adair, a seamstress, provided him with excellent support at the opposite end, reaping minute deviations from the deck throughout the evening. But in having to go all out, Ireland eventually ran out of steam once Hoey bowled out by the 33rd over.

That Ireland made a fist of this was down to a record ninth-wicket stand between Jai Moondra and Hoey. The pair added 76 for the ninth wicket after Ireland were in tatters at 128 for 8, all at sea against the turning ball in conditions that were far from treacherous. Hoey top scored with 36, while Moondra made 31 enterprising runs in just his second ODI innings. He was easily the more adventurous of the two during their partnership, showing excellent game awareness and footwork to counter the Afghan spin threat.

Moondra took a full toss first up and hit four more boundaries in his innings before nicking Gurbaz behind to give Yamin Ahmadzai, a comeback player playing his first ODI since 2022, his second wicket. The innings ended in the 47th over when Hoey was bowled attempting a big hit down the ground off Azmatullah Omarzai. By then, Rashid and Ghazanfar, who ripped through the top order to pick up the wickets of Lorcan Tucker, Curtis Campher and Ben Calitz, had combined figures of 6 for 73.

In the chase, Gurbaz attacked the fast bowlers and ate anything pitched up. He was particularly aggressive against Moondra, the left-arm seamer, who didn't quite manage to extract the same movement as Adair in conditions tailor-made for the quicks in Belfast.

With a heave over deep midwicket, Gurbaz scored his eighth ODI fifty, but some quick wickets forced him to slow down. Sediqullah Atal dragged a flighted delivery from Hoey to long-on for 27, and Rahmat Shah, the captain, was bowled by a superb nip backer from Adair that beat the inside edge to clip top of off.