McCarthy to Shahidi, no run, on a length outside off, Shahidi looks to defend, gets beaten due to the lack of bounce
37.2
McCarthy to Gurbaz, 1 run, pitched up by the bowler on middle and leg, Gurbaz clips it to mid-wicket where the fielder gets his hands to it, just a single
37.1
McCarthy to Gurbaz, no run, on the shorter side around off, Gurbaz rides the bounce and defends it
Barry McCarthy [5.0-0-25-1] is back into the attack
Right then, the players are out in the middle and we are ready for live action..
Pitch report: The pitch hasn't broken up yet, but there's a crack on a length at one end. Not enough rough created for the spinners to work with either. Looks like a decent batting surface, reckons Niall O'Brien.
09:30 Local Time, 05:30 GMT, 11:00 IST: Ireland have dominated the first couple of days of this Test by gaining a 100-plus lead, but we still have a long way to go in this one-off Test with three more days remaining. Ireland have shown their capability so far, but Afghanistan have fought back in an emphatic style like they always do, irrespective of the format. They lead by 26 runs with 7 wickets remaining. But will they be able to turn things around going forward and set a challenging target? We shall find out sooner than later, stay around for all the updates, action of day 3 is not far away..
Hashmatullah Shahidi: It was pressure but I keep it calm and simple, as a captain you have to lead from the front. Gurbaz is a class player, he has a lot of shots. I just told him, keep it simple and you have a good defense, if you show the deence, they will give you loose balls. Last two Tests my performance was not good, today was good and I will try to maintain this tomorrow. Tomorrow is a big day for us and we will try and win the first session. It is windy and conditions are not easy for batting. If we have runs on the board, the game will be on. We still have Nasir and Karim to bat, they all can bat and the important thing is how we will start tomorrow.
Afghanistan would look for a lead of something around 200 to put Ireland under pressure in the fourth innings. Can they do it? We will be back tomorrow to find out. Before we leave, here's Shahidi talking after the end of the day's play. See you on day 3. Bye for now.
17:33 Local Time, 13:33 GMT, 19:03 IST: This Test is finely poised.
36.6
Tector to Shahidi, no run, thrown up outside off, left alone and that will be stumps on day 2
Leg-slip added. Four around the bat.
36.5
Tector to Shahidi, no run, flighted delivery full on off, Shahidi gets forward to defend
36.4
Tector to Shahidi, no run, slower and tossed up outside off, turns away, left alone
36.3
Tector to Gurbaz, 1 run, given as a run, so a thin inside-edge on to pad
Slip, short-leg and a leg-slip in.
36.2
Tector to Gurbaz, no run, keeps a tad low on a good length outside off, Gurbaz pokes it away wide of slip
36.1
Tector to Shahidi, 1 run, flat good length on the stumps, tucked to the vacant mid-wicket area
Harry Tector, right-arm off break, comes into the attack
Afghanistan
Ireland
