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Afghanistan managed to hold off Ireland from running away in the one-off Test with their all-rounded performance on Day 2 on Thursday at the Tolerance Oval.
At the end of Day 2, Afghanistan managed to put up 134/3 on the board with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi unbeaten with respective scores of 23(28) and 53(92). After Ireland managed to dominate the opening day of the clash Gurbaz and Shahidi stitched up an unbeaten 41-run stand to restore the balance of the game. Ireland kicked off the day with four wickets down Paul Stirling and Harry Tector taking charge with the bat. Tector was dismissed early in the session without adding a single run to his previous day's score. Lorcan Tucker brought up a fine 80-run partnership with Stirling. Stirling was dismissed at the stroke of lunch by Zahir Khan who breached his defence to end the Irish batter's time on the crease for a score of 52. Tucker went on to drive Ireland's innings with confidence and positivity throughout his innings. Tucker (46) got deceived by Zia-ur-Rehman's left arm spin and fell before reaching the 50-run mark. Andy McBrine went on to keep Ireland's scoreboard ticking while showcasing remarkable patience to add runs with the lower order. Zia-ur-Rehman on the other hand, kept removing the lower-order batters and claimed a five-wicket haul to add pressure on Ireland. Medium pacer Nijat Masood claimed McBrine's wicket and brought an end to Ireland's innings for a score of 263. With a lead of 108 runs, Noor Ali Zadran, Gurbaz and Shahidi provided handy contributions to quickly take down the lead and end the day on a positive note. Afghanistan managed to take a 26-run lead and set batters Gurbaz as well as Shahidi will be looking to add more on Day 3. Brief Score: Afghanistan 155 & 134/3 (Hashmatullah Shahidi 53*, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 23*; Mark Adair 2-23) vs Ireland 263 (Paul Stirling 52, Curtis Campher 49; Zia-ur-Rehman 5-64). (ANI)
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