Afghanistan won by four runs against Ireland, closing out a clean sweep of the three-match series hosted in Ireland. The visitors posted 302 before Ireland could reach the target, falling short at 298 on Friday morning. And here's the thing — this marks Ireland's third consecutive defeat in the series, a run that began on 7 August with a 92-run loss.
Ireland had shown signs of competitiveness earlier. They took a narrow win in the first encounter on 28 June, scoring 154 to Afghanistan's 153, before losing the second match on 26 June by 34 runs. To be fair, the pattern shifted dramatically when Afghanistan returned for this tour.
The visitors have now won all three matches on this trip. On 7 August they secured a 92-run victory, followed by a 42-run win on 10 August and a 42-run margin on 12 August. Ireland's batting has struggled to set targets that Afghanistan consistently chase down.
By then the series momentum had settled into a pattern. Afghanistan's bowlers have been disciplined, restricting Ireland to totals that are rarely out of reach. Their batsmen have chased down most targets with comfortable margins.
The final match saw Afghanistan post 302, a score that demanded persistence from Ireland. Their batting fell short by four runs, leaving the visitors to celebrate a series victory on Irish soil.