One-off Test: Rahmat Shah fifty takes Afghanistan closer
Rahmat Shah (L) and Hashmatullah Shahidi (AFP Photo)[/caption] Rahmat Shah became the first batsman from his country to record Test fifty as he built a patient partnership alongside Hashmatullah Shahidi to take Afghanistan to 157/2 against Ireland at lunch on Day 2 of their one-off Test in Dehradun. (One-off Test: Scorecard) While Shah was unbeaten on 59, Shahidi had reached 43 not out when the first session came to an end with Afghanistan just 16 runs away from taking the first innings lead. Ireland, on Saturday, were given a brutal reminder of how they forego of their advantage of winning the toss and batting first on a pitch that had little on offer for the bowlers. They set a defensive field, but the Afghan pair refused to oblige. They scored a mere 20 runs in the first hour of play when Ireland delivered 16 overs. Shah reached a maiden Test fifty off 121 deliveries and has so far struck nine fours. With Shahidi, who will be aiming to follow in his footsteps when the play resumes for the second session, he has 89 runs for the third wicket. While the bigger plan was to remain patient, when opportunity was presented, they didn't shy away from threading the gaps also. Tim Murtagh had spoken of the importance of early wickets but Ireland endured a wicketless session with Afghanistan adding 67 runs in 30 overs. Brief Scores: Afghanistan 157/2 (Rahmat Shah 59*, Hashmatullah Shahidi 43*; James Cameron-Dow 2/55) trail Ireland 172 (Tim Murtagh 54*; Mohammad Nabi 3/36) by 15 runs