Afghanistan Beat Ireland in ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2018, Qualifies For Cricket World Cup 2019

Asghar Stanikzai hit a smashing 39 not out off 29 balls leading Afghanistan to 213/5 against Ireland's 209/7. Afghanistan will now join other qualifiers for the World Cup 2019 in England, scheduled from May 30 to July 14, 2019.

New Delhi, Mar 23: Afghanistan on Friday beat Ireland by 5 wickets to qualify for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Asghar Stanikzai hit a smashing 39 not out off 29 balls leading Afghanistan to 213/5 against Ireland’s 209/7. Afghanistan will now join other qualifiers for the World Cup 2019 in England, scheduled from May 30 to July 14, 2019.

Afghanistan will now face the West Indies in the Qualifiers’ final on Sunday, March 25. The other countries the winner will play alongside in the World Cup 2019 are Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, and New Zealand.

In Friday’s game, Ireland had won the toss and chose to bat first with opener Paul Stirling. Stirling made a decent 55 off 87 balls. In 50 overs, Ireland had scored 209/7. Afghanistan needed 210 runs to qualify for the 2019 ICC World Cup. Afghanistan made a brilliant start in first 15 overs.

After the matvh was over, Ireland captain William Porterfield congratulated the Afghanistani team and added that they (Ireland) were a few runs short today. He said that the team has learned a lot from the tournament.

Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad, Gulbadin Naib, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Stanikzai, Samiullah Shenwari, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.