The monkey is off the back and it’s very special to do that,” said Balbirnie whose team were wobbling at 13-3 at one stage
Representation Pic
Ireland finally won their first Test match on Friday when they defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in Abu Dhabi, ending a streak of seven successive losses.
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Captain Andy Balbirnie led from the front with an undefeated 58 as Ireland reached their modest target of 111 in the final session of the third day. Ireland had played their first Test back in 2018 when they were defeated by Pakistan. “We’re absolutely excited. We’ve created history. The monkey is off the back and it’s very special to do that,” said Balbirnie whose team were wobbling at 13-3 at one stage.
Afghanistan resumed their second innings on Friday on 134-3 before they were dismissed for 218. Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi top scored with 55 while Rahmanullah Gurbaz, making his Test debut, hit 46. Mark Adair picked up three wickets to finish with eight for the match.
Brief scores
Afghanistan 155 & 218 (H Shahidi 55, R Gurbaz 46; C Young 3-24, B McCarthy 3-48, M Adair 3-56) lost to Ireland 263 & 111-4 (A Balbirnie 58*; N Zadran 2-31) by six wickets
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