Ireland vs Afghanistan 2017: 2nd ODI, 5 Talking Points

#2 Stirling sizzles with his leg breaks before slamming 95

Shahzad played a brilliant cameo but Stirling bettered it with a 95

An off-spinner by trade, Ireland opener and all-rounder, Paul Stirling tried his hand with wrist spinners and ended up with the best figures by an Irishman in One Day cricket.

He got variable bounce, drift and turn and made full use of it to grab six wickets, three of which came in the final over. It was bizarre that Porterfield did not give Stirling and McBrine more overs when Stanikzai was running rampant.

Stirling proceeded to stamp his class with the bat as well, playing some trademark shots to race to a fine half-century. He lost Ed Joyce on the way, but was unperturbed and looked set for a hundred when the young Rashid Khan had him LBW for 95. Replays, though, showed that the umpire had made a mistake to rob Stirling of a deserved hundred.