Afghanistan’s U19 Cricket Team lost to Ireland on Saturday in their third match in the ICC U19 World Cup tournament in New Zealand.

The national team lost by only 4 runs but are still guaranteed their spot in the quarter finals next week.

Having already beaten Pakistan in Group D, Afghanistan clinched a place in the quarter-finals for the second time in their history, having done it in 2014 in the UAE before losing to eventual champions South Africa.

In Saturday’s match, Ireland U19 won the toss and decided to field first.

Ireland U19 team lost eight wickets in 50 overs with 225 runs. 

Afghanistan’s Qais Ahmad And Wafadar Momand bowled well and each took three wickets during the match. 

However, when it came to batting, the team struggled.  

In the first match of the tournament, Afghanistan beat Pakistan by five wickets and then went on to beat Sri Lanka by 32 runs.