'You dream of that kind of knock' – Andrew Balbirnie thrilled with series-levelling ton

The left-hander's superlative knock took Ireland past the 256-run target in the third ODI to level the five-match series 1-1. Coming out to bat in the third over, he remained unbeaten for what was his career-best score, slamming eight fours and eight sixes in the match-winning performance.

“When you go out and bat, you dream of having that kind of knock, so to do it is just great," Balbirnie said after the game on Tuesday, 5 March. "We're a very close team at the moment, we're in the hotel, spending a lot of time with each other, so just to be able to get that win, we'll enjoy that tonight, and we'll go again tomorrow preparing for the next game in two days."

The batsman said the knock was a boost to his confidence. “I think just stuck to my strengths. I got out sweeping the other day, but I didn't want to put that in the locker because it’s a strong shot of mine," he explained. "To bring that out today and play it quite well is good for or me and my confidence."

Ireland had a decent day with the ball, as they restricted Afghanistan to 256/8 in 50 overs. Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin claimed a brace apiece, while Andy McBrine gave away just 37 runs and dismissed Rahmat Shah, who scored a fifty in the previous game.

“Hopefully we've got confidence now," said Balbirnie. "I thought the bowlers did extremely well. The Afghans batted well in the middle, but we managed to drag it back a bit. The guys up top, Tim Murtagh and Andy McBrine, did really well. It wasn't a perfect performance, there's still things to work on, but we're one-all with two games to go and that is great.

“We managed to negate their key threats, which is always the battle with playing Afghanistan who have two high-class spinners ... We can certainly play better but to get the first win on tour is great.”

Afghanistan got a foothold midway, as they reduced Ireland to 73/4 within 16 overs. However, George Dockrell then collaborated with Balbirnie for a 143-run stand for the fifth wicket, recording his second ODI half-century to mitigate the situation.

“He batted brilliantly," agreed Balbirnie. "I think he's been given the role as No.6 because he's shown he can be a batter in this team. He came in and showed a calm head, he knew what he wanted to do, and that took a bit of pressure off me. That he was about to do that with such ease, it’s a shame he didn't get to see it through with me, but he played a brilliant knock.”