The Afghan National Cricket team beat Ireland on Saturday evening in their first Desert T20 Challenge match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Ireland won the toss and selected to bat first but ended with a dismal 125-6 which Afghanistan reached easily - with eight balls and five wickets to spare.

From Afghanistan’s side Mohammad Nabi, Hamza Hotak and Rashid Arman each one took two wickets.

Najib got 31 runs, Shahzad Mohammadi 29 and Mohammad Nabi 26 runs.

With his two wickets and 26 runs, Nabi was named Man of the Match.

After the match Asghar Stanikzai, the team’s captain, said they had been well prepared and going in they had been determined to beat Ireland in order to set the tone for their upcoming matches.

Afghanistan cricket coach Lalchand Rajput also commented and said the team was well prepared for this challenge.

 Afghanistan is the top ranked team and the favorites to win the eight-nation inaugural Desert T20 tournament being organized by Emirates Cricket Board.

The team not only aims to win the tournament but also hopes to improve their ranking among T20 international teams.

Speaking to Gulf News earlier in the week, former Indian Test star Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Afghanistan team, said: “We want to do well in this tournament. It is a great exposure for the team and we hope to improve our ranking further through this tournament. The more such tournaments we play, the more we will improve.”

Afghanistan is ranked ninth among Twenty20 international teams above even Test playing nations like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.