Ireland vs Afghanistan, 5th ODI, Afghanistan tour of Ireland, 2026 - CommentaryIRE vs AFG, 5th ODI, Afghanistan tour of Ireland, 2026 - Commentary

Rahmat Shah collects the trophy before the rest of the Afghanistan players and staff join him to pose for the cameras. It has been a brilliant series for Afghanistan, who were simply too good for Ireland. We hope you enjoyed our coverage. We will be back soon, because cricket never stops. For now, that’s all from us. Until we meet again, goodbye, goodnight, and take care!

Paul Stirling | Ireland captain: [How do you reflect on the series?] It's slightly disappointing, obviously, to lose the series 4-0. I thought we had opportunities in each game. Didn't quite come up trumps, but we were pretty thoroughly outplayed, to be honest. They're a better side than us. I thought that no Rashid Khan made a huge difference today, and I thought that was probably our best chance to pip them, and fair play to that partnership, was another outstanding one that took the game away from us. [How do you assess the positives?] We just need to gel together again. We're so used to having players that have played so many times and have so many caps that experience has never been an issue. And now you go to the other end of the scale, and it takes time. You never really get it done, the job done in one go. It always seems to be bits and pieces as you go. And again, we said so many times, we've got places to go in months coming up, and it's so important that every time we go out there, we improve. I think we did show a little bit of improvement today. We were in the game and in the fight, I thought, in the field particularly. We showed that we were well up for it. So I think that's what I asked of the players, is to make sure this was no different to any other game of the series, and I think we did show that.

Rahmat Shah | Player of the Match and Afghanistan captain: [On getting his highest ODI score] First of all, thanks to Almighty Allah. Yeah, after a long time, I don't remember when I last made a hundred for Afghanistan. So, I will never forget this moment and this hundred. [On his partnership with Sediqullah Atal] When me and Sediqullah were on the wicket, we were just waiting for the loose ball and trying to stay on the wicket. Which bowler we have to target, which bowler we have to give respect. That's why we were going slowly, slowly to reach the target. I really enjoyed (batting with him). Sometimes he targeted the bowler, sometimes I targeted the bowler. So, it was a good innings. [On Rashid Khan] Before we came here, we had a camp in Birmingham. The weather was similar. We have a good preparation camp. And also we are very lucky to have Rashid Khan. Him and other spinners bowled really well (throughout the series).

Rashid Khan | Player of the Series: Amazing job, especially with the bat. I felt like, the way Rahmat and Sediqullah played, took the game deeper and deeper, and this was, I think, the highest run chase for Afghanistan in ODI cricket as well. So the most pleasing part was Rahmat Shah finishing up the innings. [On taking 12 wickets in the series] We are moving in a very right direction, and just making sure, like, we do the things right and how we're gonna win against a big team. That's something which, as a team, we need to think about. And especially for the next World Cup, I feel like, you know, there's some areas we need to improve, if it's in the fast bowling unit, especially in the death. And I think in the batting as well, you know, in the death, we can improve in that area. And once we improve that, I feel we're gonna be a very strong team for the next World Cup.

Talking about the match, Ireland posted a challenging total of 298, thanks to a stunning knock from Curtis Campher, who hammered 96 off 84 balls. If that wasn’t enough, Liam McCarthy dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran inside the first six overs, and it looked like Ireland might finally end their long wait for a win over Afghanistan after more than seven years. But that’s when Sediqullah Atal and Rahmat Shah came together and stitched together a massive 201-run stand for the third wicket. The two started cautiously, soaking up plenty of dot balls, but once they got their eye in, they shifted gears and took the attack to Ireland. Sediqullah Atal missed out on back-to-back hundreds, falling just two runs short of a well-deserved century, but Rahmat stayed out there until the job was done. The Afghanistan skipper was brilliant, crafting a magnificent unbeaten 143 off 133 balls and putting on a masterclass in how to pace an innings during a run chase of around 300. Liam McCarthy was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, but he didn’t get much support from the others in terms of wickets.

18:39 Local Time, 17:39 GMT, 23:09 IST: There it is! Highest run-chase for Afghanistan in ODIs. They have swept Ireland 4-0 in the series, with the first match washed out. A thoroughly deserved series win for Afghanistan, who have been the better side. A few Afghanistan fans are in the ground, trying to congratulate their heroes and celebrate this memorable victory with them. This is Afghanistan’s 10th consecutive ODI win over Ireland! The last time Ireland defeated Afghanistan in the 50-over format was way back on May 19, 2019.