Barry McCarthy’s maiden five-wicket haul helped Ireland beat Afghanistan by 51 runs in the 2nd ODI to level the series 1-1, with the decider match set for Sunday.
After winning the toss and batting first in Sharjah, Ireland made a positive start with William Porterfield (47) and Paul Stirling (82) putting on 115 for the first wicket. It was a far cry from the 1st ODI when the entire Ireland line-up could muster only a 100 runs.
Ireland stumbled in the middle overs when Rashid Khan picked up 2 in 2 and Mujeeb also picking wickets brought Afghanistan back into the game.
However, George Dockrell hit an enterprising knock of 62 n.o off 48 balls in the final overs to push Ireland to 271/9 in their 50 overs.
McCarthy’s 5/46 and good support from Peter Chase, Tim Murtagh and Dockrell, bowled out Afghanistan for 220 to win the match by 51 runs.
