Ian Callender (Belfast Telegraph) reports:

Six matches and 15 days after arriving in India, Ireland have finally broken their duck with one of their unsung heroes steering his side to victory in the third one-day international against Afghanistan.

Andrew Balbirnie modestly described it as a “very special knock” but it was much, much better than that. His undefeated 145 has been topped twice before by an Ireland player but only in quantity, certainly not in quality. Even Paul Stirling (177 against Canada) and Ed Joyce (160 against Afghanistan at Stormont) would concede this was the best one-day innings in Irish colours – Kevin O’Brien against England in the World Cup excepted, of course - coming as it did on a turning pitch against a world-class spin attack and under the pressure of losing the rest of the top four with just 29 runs on the board, facing a victory target of 257.

Before this innings, Balbirnie had scored two ODI centuries, with a best of 105 against Scotland at the World Cup qualifiers last year – although the Scots still contend he was plumb lbw before he had scored! He had hit eight sixes in his first 49 ODI innings; he matched that in a 136-ball innings that has levelled the series with two games to play.

Although the 28-year-old Dubliner dominated the scoring, he didn’t forget his partners who played their part in defying the odds and recording their third highest chase outside a World Cup. George Dockrell staked a claim to be Ireland’s regular No 6 after justifying his promotion with a half-century, sealed with a huge six off Mohammad Nabi. Then, with 40 still needed and now just four wickets left, Andy McBrine kept up his end, nine singles giving Balbirnie the bulk of the strike and it was all over with six balls to spare. What of the great Rashid Khan and mystery spinner Mujeeb Zadran? Well Rashid is still great and Mujeeb still causes confusion but this was Ireland’s day. Memorably, Balbirnie slog swept Rashid for two sixes as he ended up conceding five runs an over – and crucially he didn’t even get to bowl his 10th over – while another three of Balbirnie’s sixes came off Mujeeb as he leaked an almost unheard of 60 runs.

Even the best bowling attacks crack under pressure and as that fifth wicket stand between Balbirnie and Dockrell passed 50, then 100, Afghanistan, who rigidly stuck to their tried and trusted five-man bowling attack, had no Plan B. It was Dockrell’s mistake which ended the partnership at 143 – the second highest for the fifth wicket – when, despite having already taken 13 off Nabi’s over, he danced down the pitch and missed.

Stuart Poynter picked out the fielder at deep mid-wicket to give Rashid his first wicket in the 44th over but Balbirnie and Ireland would not be denied. The bowlers had done their bit in the first 20 overs when they reduced Afghanistan to 74-5 with Tim Murtagh trapping the recalled Mohammad Shahzad in his third over and McBrine rewarded for an accurate new ball spell, when he even restricted big-hitting Hazratullah Zazai to two boundaries, neither out of the middle, with Rahmat Shah’s wicket three overs later to leave Afghanistan 29-2.

Hazratullah was still scoring at a run-a-ball but he was out of his ground at the non-striker’s end when ‘dead-eye’ Murtagh’s direct throw from short fine-leg ran him out after being sent back by his captain. It got even better for Ireland when James Cameron-Dow took his first wicket, Hashmatullah Shahidi playing on, and Dockrell struck in his first over thanks a magnificent catch low at slip by man of the day, Balbirnie.

It should have been 74-6 with Cameron-Dow’s next ball but Poynter fumbled and missed a stumping chance off Asghar Afghan when he was on 18. He went on to score 75 and with Najibullah Zadran compiling a fine century – his second 50 came off 22 balls! – Ireland were chasing many more than they should have been. Boyd Rankin was not called into the attack until the 24th over but, like Murtagh they both bowled the full quota of 10 overs while Dockrell was left with five overs unused, despite conceding only 17 runs.

But this was not a day to query the minutiae. Ireland have that winning feeling again.