Afghanistan vs Ireland: Start of 3rd ODI Delayed in Bizarre Circumstances as Highway Closed Due to Fog

As per reports, a highway was closed due to the conditions which delayed the arrival of the teams at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

In a bizarre turn of events, the start of the third ODI between Afghanistan and Ireland was delayed by an hour and 15 minutes with dense fog affecting transportation in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. As per reports, a highway was closed due to the conditions which delayed the arrival of the teams at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

The toss for the third and final ODI was to take place at 9:30 am (local time) but was delayed. “The start of play for the third ODI of #KardanUniversityCup is delayed due to fog in certain areas of Abu Dhabi affecting the transportation in the city,” Afghanistan Cricket Board tweeted on Tuesday.

The match finally got underway at 11: 00 am (local time).

#Update

As the teams arrive at the stadium, the match is re-scheduled to start at 11:30 AM AFT.#AFGvIRE https://t.co/jKnG1tgp5a

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) January 26, 2021

Meanwhile, Afghanistan have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. In the series opener, powered by a century from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (127) and an attacking half-century from Rashid Khan (55), Afganistan posted 287/9.

In reply, Ireland recovered from two early blows thanks to Lorcan Tucker (83) but eventually fell short of the target to finish at 271/9 in 50 overs.

In the second ODI, Ireland batted first and Paul Stirling struck a century to guide his team to a decent 259/9. However, Afghanistan sailed to the target making 260/3 in 45.2 overs with Rahmat Shah making an unbeaten 103 while Hashmatullah Shahidi hitting 82.

The series is part of the ICC World Cup Super League that serves as part of qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Playing XIs for 3rd ODI

Afghanistan Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan (captain), Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq

Ireland Playing XI: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (captain), James McCollum, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker(w), Mark Adair, Simi Singh, Andy McBrine, Joshua Little, Craig Young