Rahmat Shah 143* drives Afghanistan to six-wicket win over Ireland at Stormont
Afghanistan captain Rahmat Shah struck an unbeaten 143 at Stormont on 15 August 2026 to lead his side to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the final match of the five‑ODI series. The visitors chased down 299 with seven balls remaining.
Ireland posted 298-7 in their 50 overs, Curtis Campher scoring 96 off 84 balls and Harry Tector 53 off 80; George Dockrell contributed 31. Afghanistan replied with 302-4 in 48.5 overs, Rahmat Shah 143* off 133 and Sediq Atal 98 off 112; Liam McCarthy finished with 3-47 and Azmatullah Omarzai returned 3-74. Rahmat’s century was his sixth in one-day internationals and he shared an Afghanistan record 201 for the third wicket with Sediq Atal.
After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, Afghanistan made early breakthroughs as Andrew Balbirnie fell for 13 and Ireland captain Paul Stirling was out for 20 after hitting four boundaries, with Azmatullah taking the first two of his three wickets. AM Ghazanfar then removed Cade Carmichael for 22 and Lorcan Tucker for seven. Tector was caught by Mohammad Saleem for 53 and Campher hit seven fours and four sixes before being dismissed off the first ball of the final over.
Liam McCarthy struck twice in Afghanistan’s chase, removing Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 14 and Ibrahim Zadran for five, leaving the visitors with just 30 from the 10-over powerplay. Rahmat Shah and Sediq Atal then consolidated, building the pivotal third-wicket partnership that put Afghanistan back in control of the run chase.
Sediq Atal reached 98 from 112 balls, including seven fours and three sixes, before he was caught by Carmichael off McCarthy with 76 required from 57 balls. Azmatullah added 24 for Afghanistan before Jai Moondra claimed his wicket. Rahmat struck 13 fours and two sixes during his innings and sealed the victory with a boundary.
Afghanistan won by six wickets, surpassing Ireland’s target of 299 with seven balls to spare, and completed the five-match series 4-0 after the opening fixture was washed out.
