Test match, Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Dehradun, India (day four of five)
Ireland 172 (60 overs): Murtagh 54*, Dockrell 39; Nabi 3-36, Ahmadzai 3-41 & 288 (93 overs) Balbirnie 82, O'Brien 56, Rashid 5-82, Ahmadzai 3-52
Afghanistan: 314 (106.3 overs): Rahmat Shah 98, Afghan 67, Shahidi 61; Thompson 3-28 & 149-3 (47.5 overs) Shah 76, Janat 65
Afghanistan win by seven wickets

Afghanistan earned their first Test win after Rahmat Shah's 76 and Ihsanullah Janat's 65 helped them earn a seven-wicket victory over Ireland.
Starting day four on 29-1 chasing 147 for victory, the duo's 139-run partnership ended any hopes of an unlikely Ireland fightback in Dehradun.
After hitting 98 in Afghanistan's first innings, Shah was out for 76 just three short of the victory target.
Mohammad Nabi quickly departed but the Afghans were not to be denied.
Hashmatullah Shahidi smashed the winning boundary to trigger celebrations in the Afghanistan dressing room.
"It's a historic day for Afghanistan, for our team and our people," said the winning captain Asghar Afghan, who made 67 in the first innings.
"We have been playing for a while, we have been playing first-class cricket, so we have that composure.
"The bowlers were very good, Rashid (Khan), Yamin (Ahmadzai). Now we're going to South Africa for World Cup preparation. We will try our best to play good cricket."

Ireland were on the back foot from the opening day when they were bowled out for 172 at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.
Afghanistan responded with a total of 314 to secure a 144-run first-innings lead and despite Ireland's improved second-innings total of 288, helped by Andrew Balbirnie's 82, the Afghans were still in a strong position going into the penultimate day.
Ireland captain and opener William Porterfield, who managed only nine runs in the contest, admitted that the Afghans "outplayed us".
"We had to capitalise in the first innings. If we'd done how we'd done in the second innings, it could have been a completely different game. But credit to Afghanistan."
Both Ireland and Afghanistan were playing their second-ever Test since being awarded a full member status in 2017.
The Irish side's home debut ended in a five-wicket defeat by Pakistan in a hard-fought contest last May, while Afghanistan succumbed inside two days against top-ranked India a month later in Bengaluru.
Prior to the Test, Afghanistan won a Twenty20 series 3-0 at their adopted home in Dehradun before Ireland rebounded to earn a 2-2 draw in a one-day series.

The accompanying photograph that appeared in our last edition with our cricket feature, ‘Inshan Ali: Pride and lion of Preysal’ was correctly captioned as Inshan Ali; however, the image above it was incorrect and inadvertent, showing instead West Indies wicketkeeper, Deryck Murray. The correct photograph of Inshan Ali is reproduced above. We apologise for the oversight and error. (Ed.)

Aaron Finch, Australia's captain, was understandably on cloud nine after leading his team to an emphatic 35-run victory over India in the fifth and final One Day International (ODI) at the Feroze Shah Kotla. The result meant that the visitors completed a remarkable 3-2 series win, after having lost the first two matches. It also ended Australia's losing sequence of six bilateral ODI series while India ate humble pie, having lost a series for the first time since 2015 and losing a home series to Australia for the first time since 2009.
Chasing 272, India were never in the hunt and capitulated for 237, as they finished their preparations for the upcoming 2019 World Cup on a losing note. While Virat Kohli, the Indian captain didn't offer any excuses, his opposite number was visibly delighted. Terming the series win as 'unbelievable', Finch said: "The resilience and fight that we showed being down 0-2 it would have been easy to roll over in those small moments in the game, just let them drift away and India win the series.
"But the fight that we showed, we've had our backs against the walls for quite a while now so I'm really proud of the group. From 2-0 down to win 3-2 is pretty special. I've been coming here for a while now trying to win and haven't, so have a lot of Australian players, so it's a special moment," the proud captain added.
Australia found several heroes right through the series - Usman Khawaja's consistent run at the top, the opening bursts from Pat Cummins and the incisive leg-spin of Adam Zampa - not to forget match-winning contributions from Peter Handscomb and Ashton Turner. With David Warner and Steve Smith all set to return, Finch believes that the presence of world-class quality will hold Australia in good stead - come the 2019 World Cup.
"People have written us off for quite a while now," Finch said. "We always knew that the plans and the style that we wanted to play are all there, can win us the World Cup, win us big series against great teams and India are definitely a great team.
"It's about ourselves believing we're good enough and sticking to our game plan. We did that for four of the five games and India were too good in a close one in Nagpur. To get over the line in three of them was a great series all round."
What impressed the skipper further was the ability his batsmen showed and the game awareness to tackle challenging moments. "If you go in with all attacking players in these conditions you're going to struggle, because we know the wickets slow up and the quality of (spinners Yuzvendra) Chahal, Kuldeep (Yadav), (Ravindra) Jadeja these guys they're too good to just walk out and blast them out of the park," Finch said.
"You need good batsmanship on these wickets and guys who know how to play situations," Finch concluded.
Australia will further fine-tune their World Cup preparations with a five-match ODI series against Pakistan, beginning on March 22, at the Sharjah Cricket Association stadium.

Quetta Gladiators fought their way to ultimate victory against Peshawar Zalmi in the title match of the Pakistan Super League 2019 at the National Stadium in Karachi last Sunday.
The occasion marks the side's first victory after having reached the final on two previous occasions.
Zalmi had set a lower-than-expected target of 139 runs, which the Gladiators chased down effectively in 17.5 overs.

Peshawar Zalmi innings
The Gladiators had won the toss and decided to field first against Zalmi.
Zalmi skipper Darren Sammy had expressed hopes after the toss that the side would be able to put up a target of 180 runs or more but they fell much shorter than that owing to the constant onslaught of the Gladiators' bowlers who restricted them.
The first wicket to go was that of Imamul Haq who went down courtesy Mohammad Hasnain for 3 runs off 4 balls at 1.3 overs.

Kamran Akmal soon followed when he was dismissed off Mohammad Nawaz's delivery at the end of the 4th over. He put up 21 runs off 15 balls.
Shoaib Maqsood was the third man down, caught at long off by Rossouw owing to a witty slower delivery by Bravo. He scored an even 20 runs off 20 balls.
Umer Amin was next, caught out by Sohail Tanvir off Mohammad Hasnain's delivery at deep mid-wicket. He put up 38 runs off 33 balls and was the top scorer for the side.
Nabi Gul was caught out at 14.4 overs attempting to score a big one by Ahmed Shehzad at deep mid-wicket. Fawad Ahmed claimed this one. Gul made 9 runs off 12 balls.
It was then up to Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy to rescue the side. Unfortunately, Pollard did not stick around for much longer as he was edged out to the keeper by Mohammad Hasnain, who with this wicket had claimed his third. Pollard scored a disappointing 7 runs off 12 balls.
Sammy and Wahab Riaz were in a desperate attempt to add runs in the last three overs.
Sammy hit a four to mercifully send the scoreboard ticking at 18.3 overs and again sent the ball smashing for another four at the end of the over, managing to score 13 runs off the 19 over.
The last over saw the fall of Riaz at the second last ball when he was run out by Mohammad Nawaz for 2 runs off 18 balls.
Sammy was the last man to go, fighting until the very end. He hit a full toss down to long on and was caught out by Mohammad Nawaz off Bravo's delivery.

Quetta Gladiators innings
Shehzad scored a brilliant half-century, the only player to have done so in the match. Though his 50 came up at 15.1 overs with a single shot to mid-off, his innings was marked by explosive boundaries throughout and paved the way to victory.
The previous partnership of Shehzad and Ahsan Ali (47 runs) did an admirable job in chasing the target with multiple boundaries to their credit.
Shane Watson was the first man to go down from the Gladiators' side after he was run out by Umar Amin at 2.4 overs. He scored 7 runs off 6 balls.
Despite losing Watson early, the side managed to score 57 runs in the first six overs.
Ali was out next at 7.4 overs on Riaz's quick delivery. He hit the bat down to short midwicket where Sammy was ready to catch it. He added 25 runs off 18 balls to the total including three 4s and a 6.

Awards
The Player of the Match award was given to Mohammad Hasnain of the Quetta Gladiators.
The Player of the Series as well as Batsman of the Series awards were won by Shane Watson of the Quetta Gladiators.
The Bowler of the Series award went to Hasan Ali of Peshawar Zalmi.

Steve Smith and David Warner have been welcomed back into the Australian fold with "hugs and cuddles" at a team meet-up in Dubai, and said it was like they'd never left.
The disgraced pair, whose year-long bans for ball-tampering expire this month, were invited by coach Justin Langer as part of their re-integration after the scandal in South Africa that rocked the cricketing world.
Australia are in Dubai as they prepare for an upcoming series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates following their upset One-Day International series win against India.
"It's been awesome. It's like we didn't really leave, the boys were very accepting of us coming in and with open arms," said Warner in audio comments supplied to AFP on Sunday.
"A lot of big hugs and cuddles. It's been great.
"It's good to see the spirit they're in after a great series win in India and I am obviously looking forward to watching them play against Pakistan here and hopefully they win that series as well," he added.
The "sandpapergate" scandal in Cape Town, which also saw opening batsman Cameron Bancroft banned for nine months, had far-reaching consequences for Australian cricket.
Then-coach Darren Lehmann quit and there was a clean-out of top executives from Cricket Australia after a scathing review said its "arrogant and controlling" culture was partly to blame for players bending the rules.
Australian cricket has since undergone a host of cultural changes under Langer, and Warner and Smith were brought up to speed at the meeting on how it now worked.
"Making sure we're in line with team values moving forwards," Warner said of the meet-up, which also discussed the squad's preparations for the upcoming World Cup.
"Obviously (we've) been out for 12 months and there has been a big change, which is great, and it's about accepting that and playing what our role should be in the team."
Smith, who was stripped of the captaincy and is barred from being considered for any leadership role for a further 12 months after his ban ends, echoed Warner's comments.
"It seems like some really good energy among the team at the moment," he said.
"It's great to be back around the group, they've been really welcoming and almost like we've never left."
While the cheating row initially unleashed a torrent of vitriol against them, that sentiment has eased significantly and they are expected to be slotted straight back into the team.
Smith said the Dubai catch-up went through "the values that are instilled in the team at the moment and making sure we are on the right path looking forward to what's coming up; a huge World Cup and an Ashes series in England".
The pair, who are both returning from elbow surgery, are eligible for the final two games of the Pakistan series. But selectors decided it would be better to ease themselves back at the upcoming Indian Premier League.
Langer, who has been vocal in championing their return, said it was like "two brothers coming home".

The third Test match between New Zealand and Bangladesh scheduled for last Saturday was cancelled after the Bangladesh cricket team had a narrow escape from a mass shooting at a mosque in Christchurch.
A New Zealand Cricket spokesperson confirmed the cancellation two hours after multiple people were killed in mass shootings at two mosques in the New Zealand city.
"Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families and friends of those affected by the shocking situation in Christchurch," announced Black Caps Twitter account. "A joint decision between NZC (New Zealand Cricket) and the @BCBtigers has been made to cancel the Hagley Oval Test. Again both teams and support staff groups are safe."
Earlier, members of the Bangladesh cricket team described on social media their narrow escape from the mass shooting on New Zealand’s South Island.
Players and members of the team’s coaching staff were reportedly on their bus, approaching the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Hagley Park when the shooting broke out.
Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal tweeted “entire team got saved from active shooters. Frightening experience and please keep us in your prayers.”
Performance analyst Shrinivas Chandrasekeran, also on Twitter, said “Just escaped active shooters. Heartbeats pumping badly and panic everywhere.”
Player Mushfiqur Rahim posted “Alhamdulillah Allah save us today while shooting in Christchurch in the mosque. We (were) extremely lucky...never want to see this things happen again....pray for us.”
Mario Villavarayen, a strength and conditioning coach with the team, told New Zealand media the players did not see the shooter but heard shots. He said they were shaken but unhurt.
“I spoke to one of them shortly after,” Vllavarayen said. They didn’t see anything but heard gunshots. They were at the ground and just started running. The coaching staff were all at the hotel.”
New Zealand Cricket confirmed “that both teams and support staff groups are safe and accounted for”.
The Bangladesh team is reported to have left the bus and fled on foot to nearby Hagley Oval, where it was scheduled to play New Zealand in the Test match starting on Saturday.
Mohammad Islam, a journalist traveling with the Bangladesh team, earlier said he believed the players would leave New Zealand as soon as possible.
“I don’t think they’re in a mental state to play cricket at all,” he told Fairfax Media. “I think they want to go back home as soon as possible. I’m speaking from experience, I’m speaking from what I’ve heard.”
Islam said he was contacted by one of the players as the shooting was taking place and he raced towards the scene.
“It was very traumatic there and people were running out from that mosque presumably and the Bangladesh players were coming out,” he said. “They are in terrible and severe mental (distress), they’re not feeling well.
“They were just outside the mosque about to get off from the bus and go into the mosque when they heard shooting and a lot of people running out and they saw someone wounded in front of them.
“And seeing that, they didn’t get off the bus. About 10 minutes later they ran out of the bus and ran through Hagley Park and into the Hagley Oval.”

Headline News >