Ireland goes down in ODI opener - again!

Another opening game of a series and another Ireland defeat. Yet again, Ireland must come from behind after Afghanistan won the first of three one-day internationals at Stormont by 29 runs.

Led by Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin, the Ireland bowlers restricted the Afghans to 227-9 but a couple of soft early wickets and two runs outs put the home side on the back foot and there is still not enough power-hitting at the end to make up any deficit.

Into the leg side from Gulbadin Naib

A solitary boundary was scored after the 33rd over of the Ireland innings and Rashid Khan did not take any of the first eight wickets so the sequence of him taking at least three in every Afghanistan ODI win is ended.

Worryingly, moving forward, it was the two pace bowlers, Aftab Alam and the seemingly innocuous Gulbadin Naib who took three of the wickets, with Paul Stirling and captain William Porterfield both chasing wide balls and giving catches to the wicket-keeper in the first 11 overs.

Andy Balbirnie was the one batsman who looked comfortable on a pitch which, while never easy to bat on, was certainly not a minefield and at halfway, Porterfield admitted he felt confident of chasing down the total. It only needed one substantial partnership but in the end the 40-run stand between Balbirnie and Simi Singh who retained his place as the second spinner, was the best that Ireland could manage.

Andy McBrine, who was left out of last week's Twenty20 series between the teams, but played in every match at the World Cup Qualifying tournament in March, returned to the ODI side but there was still no room for James Shannon and David Delany, as Niall O'Brien and Murtagh resumed their places.

Singh is bowled...

It was Boyd Rankin who made the first breakthrough for Ireland, after Afghanistan captain Ashgar Afghan (he has changed his name from Stanikzai) called wrongly at the toss. Hazratullah Zazai, the big-hitting left-hander who scored 156 in the two T20s in Bready last week could not be ignored in the longer form and was promoted into the 16-man squad and immediately given his ODI debut.

He should not have survived his third ball but Paul Stirling, surprisingly, spilled the early chance at second slip but Rankin, the unlucky bowler, would not be denied and in his second over, Zazai could not deal with the short lifting ball and it lobbed gently to cover.

Three overs later, Murtagh reduced Afghanistan to 29-2 with a return catch to his left to give him his 50th ODI wicket but the opening bowlers could not follow up their early success and, indeed, McBrine made the only other breakthrough as a couple of half century partnerships put the visitors in control.

With 15 overs left, they were in a commanding position on 155-4 but, just as they had done in the first T20 last week, the Ireland bowlers finished strongly. Rankin ended the fourth wicket stand with a full ball which trapped Gulbadin in his crease and a pull off Peter Chase by Afghan to deep mid-wicket was always going to be intercepted on the full by Paul Stirling who this time made no mistake.

Seven balls later, Afghanistan were seven down as Murtagh struck twice in his penultimate over, both caught in the covers by Balbirnie of balls that stopped and then the same combination gave Murtagh his best ODI figures of 4-31 and Balbirnie's fourth catch was also an Ireland ODI record for a non wicket-keeper. Rankin took his third wicket, a skyer to deep square leg, immediately after Shafiquallah had hit him for six but despite Aftab Alam also clearing the boundary in the last over, it was only Afghanistan's fourth boundary in the last 15 overs.

McBrine hits a catch to long on

Ireland will need more input from their slow bowlers in the next two games - McBrine and Singh's combined figures were 1-96, - but the biggest plus mark for the attack was not a single no ball or wide was bowled - for the first time in Ireland's 135 ODIs.

Porterfield had said that he needed the top seven to get the runs and still be there when Rashid came on. Well the world's best slow bowler was held back to the 23rd over but by then Ireland were 69-3 after Niall O'Brien had charged up the wicket when Balbirnie turned the ball to mid-wicket. The striker didn't move and O'Brien, had no chance to beat the throw.

Balbirnie and Singh each took a boundary of Rashid in his first two overs, although Singh did survive a huge leg before decision which looked out even before the television replay confirmed as much.

It was Mohammad Nabi whose full delivery got under the bat of Singh to give Afghanistan their fourth wicket but Kevin O'Brien joined Balbirnie for what was the best batting of the innings. All too quickly though, after 37 from 42 balls, Balbirnie was undone by Mujeeb's mystery spin and holed out to backward square.

The arrival of Gary Wilson saw a drop in the run-rate - he took 25 balls to reach double figures - and it was probably that pressure which forced Kevin O'Brien to try and turn a rare two into three. But he was beaten by Mujeeb's accurate throw from short thirdman and yet another unforced error was to prove fatal.

McBrine was positive from the start and after his first two balls failed to score from only three in his 16-ball innings but the boundaries had long since dried up. When they tried to up the tempo, with Ireland needing 50 off the last five overs, McBrine holed out to long-off and Wilson's six in the same over proved to be Ireland's last fling.

Rashid, who was left to bowl the last five overs from the City End and duly conceded only 18 runs. He had failed to take a wicket in only three of his 13 ODIs against Ireland but two wickets in two balls, Wilson bowled sweeping and Chase from a return catch hit high in the air ensured it wouldn't be another blank