4.50pm Kevin O'Brien - take a bow. Wickets, then had to go off on 9 because of a hamstring injury. Came out to bat in a crisis and then led the way with a fine counter-attack to keep this series alive. Afghanistan's spinners switched off briefly and lost the plot in a 10-minute passage where O'Brien went berserk. Such was the ferocity of his onslaught that it more than made up for yet aother top order wobble. Credit also to Gary Wilson for playing the role of the accumulator.

Big question now is will Kevin O'Brien play the decider on Friday? Hamstring injuries can take a while to heal. He was clearly not comfortable running, and so decided maybe hitting out was the best strategy. Worked wonders today as it came at a time where it looked like Ireland were being schooled by the Afghanistan spinners. Two attacking hits forced them to alter their line and lengths. It went downhill from there on.

Time for the presentation

"It's all coming together now," says Ireland captain William Porterfield. "We knew today would be a low-scoring affair. Restricting them to 220 was a great effort. We'll assess who is fit. We've had a couple of forced chances. Hopefully we can pick from a full squad for the final game on Friday."

No surprises with the Player of the Match award. Kevin O'Brien . "It's the same hamstring injury, which doesn't look too good. We'll reassess in the next 12-24 hours to see how it goes. As a batting unit, we spoke of how we need one from the top six to be there till the end. That's how it worked out. Afghanistan are a good bowling team. We knew they weren't going to lie down when they scored just 219."

"Top order hasn't clicked, that's a concern for us," says Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai. "The good thing is our lower order is coming up with important contributions. I think 220 was a defendable total."

pradipto: "This is a commendable effort from the Irish on a slow and low turner, kind of pitch they are not accustomed too. Kevin O'brien still has it in him."