Afghanistan vs Ireland, Only Test at Abu Dhabi, AFG v IRE, Feb 28 2024 - Match Result

Balbirnie lifts the trophy for the one-off Test, before his team-mates gather around him and celebrate victory and creating history. Massive moment for a nation which has time and again expressed willingness to play more Test cricket. Maybe this win rings a bell! Here's Sreshth's report from today in case you missed any of the action. We'll catch you soon for the limited-overs leg of the tour, and until then, this is Himanshu signing off on behalf of Raghav and Sreshth! Enjoy the historic day, Ireland fans.

CraigMcD: "Supporting Ireland cricket really isn't good for your blood pressure! Thrilled to get over the line and delighted for Captain Balbo. What a joy to see your country win a Test match."

AJ: "Niall calling those last few minutes leading up to the win cut through the feels like a knife through warm butter. Couldn't imagine someone better to call a fantastic first test win!"

Andy Balbirnie, the winning captain: "I can't [believe this win]. Mark was disciplined. To take 20 wickets in a Test is an achievement, and to do that second time is very special. [At 13 for 3] we were one partnership away. Obviously there were a bit of nerves; we were chasing our first win. It's right up there. You ask this whole group how special this is! A lot of our guys didn't get to play Test cricket. Hopefully people back home want to be Test cricketers. We knew it would be attritional stuff... it's just an all-round performance. We're absolutely excited. You have to look at how busy the schedule is. There's a lot of cricket in the world that is going on. We've created results, and created history. The monkey is off the back. Very special to do that."

Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afghanistan captain: "I think the first day, when we were batting, we let ourselves down. Irish seamers were bowling very well... but we threw our wickets away. The conditions weren't good for batting. From day one, the ball was seaming. Their bowlers were also very disciplined, and bowled in the right areas. We have some positives. Gurbaz was very positive on debut. Naveed had had a good Test against Sri Lanka, and in this match also he did very well. Zia had a five-for [too]. [The first win] is always special, and I congratulate them. We move forward, and learn."

Mark Adair is the Player of the Match: "I'm buzzing. Obviously very nice to get a win. Absolutely chuffed... Test cricket is pretty difficult. I think we've got a really good bowling group. In the last year, we've played a lot of cricket."

Time for the presentations

Stefan: "Many congratulations to Ireland from South Africa!! So well deserved. May this lead to a much fuller Test calendar in future"

Nagraj Todur: "Who will get MoM?" --- Mark Adair, I think, for his eight wickets in the match

Justin Smyth: "So delighted for this Ireland team. They have put so much into achieving this historic Test victory. We have seen history today. Wow."

Sam: "Great captain's knock from Andy Balbirnie. He's probably disappointed a little with the bat so far in his Test career, but fantastic to steer his side to victory and be there at the crease for a historic win"

Raymond: "I think I can open my celebratory Guinness now" --- Boom!

4.34pm They end up waiting months to play a Test - before this one, they had played only seven since 2018 - but they finally get to taste victory in the format. Multiple heads have gone into fulfilling this dream, as Ireland create history. It wasn't all that easy when it had started though, as Ireland required Captain Balbirnie to take his side out of troubled waters. At 13 for 3 in pursuit of 111, there must have been nerves spread out in the dressing room; but Balbirnie, Stirling and Tucker held on, and left Afghanistan wondering what would have been had there been another 50 runs to play with. Hang around for the presentations.

Just four more...

Six to win