Afghanistan qualified for its second Cricket World Cup after beating Ireland by five wickets in Harare on Friday (Mar 23). The Afghans made their Cricket World Cup debut in 2015, and join fellow qualifier the West Indies at the tournament next year in England and Wales. They and the West Indies also play in the qualifying tournament final on Sunday.
Afghanistan benefited when tournament host Zimbabwe, the favorite with the West Indies to advance, choked on Thursday when it lost to associate side the United Arab Emirates.
In the decider on Friday for the last qualifying berth, Afghanistan restricted fellow new test side Ireland to 209-7 in 50 overs. Legspinner Rashid Khan claimed 3-40 to become the fastest bowler to reach 100 one-day international wickets.
In pursuit, Afghanistan opener and man-of-the-match Mohammad Shahzad (54) and Gulbafin Naib (45) made a solid start. Despite a middle-order scare, captain Asghar Stanikzai (39 not out) and Najibullah Zadran (17 not out) guided Afghanistan home on the first ball of the final over.
Afghanistan was fortunate to make the Super Six round-robin. In the pool stages, it beat only Nepal and lost to Zimbabwe, Scotland, and Hong Kong. But it advanced on net run rate.
In the Super Six, an opening three-wicket win over the West Indies brought the Afghans’ campaign on track. The second lifeline was Zimbabwe’s stunning loss to the UAE, which left the winner of the Afghanistan-Ireland game with a clear path to the Cricket World Cup.
Ireland failed to qualify after playing at the last three Cricket World Cups.
