After the first ODI in Bready was abandoned without a ball being bowled, Afghanistan ripped Ireland apart to win each of the last four ODIs. Sediqullah Atal was the top-scorer of the five-match series with 313 runs, comprising a hundred and a fifty. The next best was Ibrahim Zadran, with 208 runs.
Afghanistan won despite being without two of leading spinners, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. However, Rashid Khan led the bowling charts with 12 wickets, including 6-34 in the second ODI.
With the cut-off date for automatic qualification to the ODI World Cup 2027 being September 30, Afghanistan will fancy their chances after this series victory. The top eight sides in the ICC ODI rankings sans hosts South Africa will qualify directly for the World Cup.
Afghanistan, eighth on the table, stood at 90 rating points before the start of the series, which jumped to 92 after their series victory. Bangladesh are currently ninth with 83 points under their belt, with the West Indies at 77 points below them. On the other hand, 12th-ranked Ireland dropped from 54 to 51.
With the Associate Nations paying a hefty price for the changes in the qualification scenarios by the ICC, teams will aim to stay clear of slipping down in the qualification tournaments - a risk that the West Indies are staring at, once again.
Latest ICC men’s ODI rankings after IRE vs AFG seriesPosition
Team
Matches
Points
Rating
1
India
33
3841
116
2
New Zealand
35
3809
109
3
Australia
29
2965
102
4
South Africa
28
2855
102
5
Pakistan
32
3215
100
6
Sri Lanka
36
3470
96
7
England
31
2898
93
8
Afghanistan
28
2565
92
9
Bangladesh
39
3251
83
10
West Indies
34
2624
77
11
Zimbabwe
15
941
63
12
Ireland
16
815
51
13
Scotland
28
1260
45
14
Netherlands
30
1309
44
15
USA
26
1035
40
16
Oman
22
716
33
17
Namibia
20
623
31
18
Nepal
31
790
25
19
United Arab Emirates
25
413
17
20
Canada
22
194
9
Image credits: Afghanistan Cricket Board
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