Afghanistan dropped 108 runs in the first innings, but they were able to make up some of that lead in Abu Dhabi.
Ireland 263 (Stirling 52 Camper 49, Zia-ur-Rehman 5-64, Naveed 3-59) leads
Afghanistan 155 and 134 for 3 (Shahidi 53*, Noor 32, Adair 2-23) by 26 runs.
Afghanistan's batting was led by Hashmatullah Shahidi's undefeated fifty-three,
which left the Abu Dhabi Test in a precarious position at the end of the second
day. Afghanistan rallied to close the day with 134 for 3 in their second
innings, with a lead of 26 runs, after giving up a 108-run lead in the first
innings.
Ireland will be hoping that their spinners can have more of an impact on day
three, while Shahidi will begin his stand with debutant Rahmanullah Gurbaz on
Friday.
Ireland reached 263 thanks to a 52-point effort by Paul
Stirling and four other hitters who scored between 30 and 50. The velocity of
Naveed Zadran and the control of left-arm spinner Zia-ur-Rehman prevented
Ireland's batsmen from building on their early successes.
After Zia wheeled away for 30 overs, Naveed took 3 for 59 while Zia returned 5
for 64, his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket history.
In the opening over of the day, under overcast skies, Naveed had encountered
inconsistent bounce, while Zia, on the other end, had routinely ripped the ball
beyond the edge after it had drifted in towards the stumps. Naveed made his
overnight score of 32 when he got Harry Tector's leg before wicket in the fifth
over of the day after he got a length ball to seam back in.
Then, with Ireland 49 runs adrift and five wickets
remaining, Lorcan Tucker joined Stirling. The tight lengths and spin-friendly
pitch prevented Ireland from getting away, even though a few boundaries gave
the hitters some breathing room.
But Stirling attacked Zahir Khan, a left-arm wrist-spinner, with sweeps and
pulls, and Khan was unable to hold the strain. Now that the outfield was
available, Ireland took the lead. The day's first 19 overs saw 45 runs scored,
while the next 7.4 overs saw 41 more.
By smashing an over-pitched ball from Zahir through cover,
Stirling reached fifty. However, Zahir was able to change ends in the last over
before lunch. At 31, he tore one back from a fullish length, via bat and pad,
to give Ireland the lead back at Castle Stirling.
In Test cricket, Stirling and Tucker's 80 was the highest sixth-wicket stand
for Ireland. The previous high for Ireland came in the Mirpur match against
Bangladesh last year, with Tucker and Tector scoring 72.
While Tucker frequently found the fielders, he did center a couple drives. Slow
but surely, Andy McBrine helped Ireland surpass the 200 mark. The stand came to
an end when Rahmat Shah grabbed Tucker after Zia lured him with a loud drive.
Then came Mark Adair, who frequently failed to read the
spinners off the hand. To finish his five-for, Zia trapped both Adair and No.
10 Barry McCarthy's leg before wicket. McBrine skied a catch to mid-off off Nijat,
leaving him the final player out.
Afghanistan's batsmen improved in the second innings after folding for 155 in
the first. Noor Ali and Ibrahim Zadran were able to find spaces on the offside
for balls that were not very long. However, Ireland made the first breakthrough
when Peter Moor made an incredible one-handed catch at the gully off Adair.
After Ibrahim steered a wide-length ball, Moor fell to his
left, reached down to grab the ball, and stood up quickly with it. When the
third umpire was brought in, he was certain that the catch was clean.
Then, shortly after leaving Afghanistan at 38 for 2, Rahmat succumbed. Despite
a few nervous moments, Noor and Shahidi managed to stabilize the innings. In
the eleventh over, Shahidi was even struck on the glove by excessive bounce.
However, the two dismissed Adair's initial seven-over session, which resulted
in 2 for 23, and they went straight after Theo van Woerkom.
The batters were put to the test by Young's quick pace and
McBrine's fly and dip, but they continued to rotate the strike. In the
twenty-fifth over, Ireland burned a review, but McCarthy handed them a break
when he had Noor fight off a ball that was somewhat short and skidded off the
pitch to Adair at gully.
Gurbaz struck early, hitting McBrine over mid-on to raise Afghanistan's
hundred. Then, he took McCarthy apart piece by point to put them ahead.
Afghanistan's lead was further cemented when Shahidi again took aim at van
Woerkom.
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