Ireland skipper Paul Stirling became the first batter to hit 400 fours in T20Is during the first match of the three-game series against Afghanistan on March 15 in Sharjah, UAE. Stirling is the only batter to have 400 fours to his name in the T20Is and sits on the top of the list which features the likes of Babar Azam and Virat Kohli. Stirling scored 25 runs in their game on Friday (Mar 15) and hit two fours in his innings.
The Irish skipper now has 401 fours in 135 T20Is to his name. The second on the list is former Pakistan skipper Babar who has 395 fours in 109 T20Is. The next two batters on the list are India’s Virat Kohli 361 fours in 117 matches and Rohit Sharma with 359 fours in 151 matches. Australia’s David Warner completes the top-five with 320 fours to his name in 103 T20Is.
As for the match, Ireland were asked to bat first after losing the toss. They made a good start, scoring 48/1 in the powerplay, before returning Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan put brakes on their innings. Rashid’s double-wicket over saw Ireland at 66/4 in 10.3 overs before Harry Tector rescued them. Tector’s unbeaten 56 meant Afghanistan chased a modest total of 150 in 20 overs.
During the chase, Afghanistan faltered quickly as they lost three wickets inside two overs for just four runs on the board. Josh Little took two of those three wickets on consecutive balls in second over of the chase. Afghans could never really recover from there and kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Ben White also took a four-for as Afghanistan were eventually bowled out for 111 and lost the game by 38 runs. Ireland’s White was named Player of the Match for his 4/20. The next T20I of the series will be played on Sunday, March 17.
