Well, folks, that brings us to the end of our coverage for today's ODI. Thank you all for tuning in and staying with us - we have thoroughly enjoyed your company. On behalf of Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi, Thilak Ramamurthy, and the rest of the Cricinfo team, this is Rashad Mahbub signing off. Goodnight and goodbye!

Paul Stirling: "[How do you reflect on the performance] Look, it's disappointing to lose the series 4-0. I thought we had opportunities in each game, but we didn't quite take them and were thoroughly outplayed. To be honest, they're just a better side than us. I thought Rashid Khan not playing today gave us our best chance to pip them, but fair play to that partnership - it was another outstanding stand that took the game completely away from us. [Plenty of positives to collect?] We just need to gel together. We're so used to having experienced players with plenty of caps where experience was never an issue, but now we're at the other end of the scale and that takes time. You rarely get the job done in one go; it's always a step-by-step process. As we've said many times, we have important fixtures coming up in the months ahead, so every time we step out there, we need to show improvement. I think we did show that today - we were in the fight, and our commitment in the field showed we were up for it. That's what I asked of the players: to approach this like any other game in the series, and they delivered on that front."

Player of the Series, Rashid Khan: "I think they did an amazing job, especially with the bat. The way Rahmat and Sediq played, taking the game deeper and deeper, was impressive. I believe this was the highest run chase for Afghanistan in ODI cricket as well. The most pleasing part was seeing Rahmat Shah finish it off. It was great to see the boys get the job done without me out there, and hopefully we can keep that momentum going. [How do you see this team moving forward] It's moving in the right direction. We just need to make sure we do the simple things right and focus on how we're going to win against the bigger teams. As a squad, especially looking ahead to the next World Cup, there are a few areas we need to refine - specifically our fast bowling at the death and pushing our scoring rate in the closing overs of the batting. Once we sharpen up those areas, I feel we'll be a very strong team for the next World Cup."

Player of the Match, Rahmat Shah: "First of all, thanks to Almighty Allah. Ever since I made a hundred for Afghanistan, I'll never forget this moment - this hundred. When Sediq and I were at the wicket, we just waited for the loose ball, stayed out there, and managed the overs. We picked which bowlers to target and which ones to respect, taking it step by step to reach the target. [Batting with Sediq] I really enjoyed it. We spoke out in the middle - sometimes he targeted the bowler, and sometimes I did. It was a good innings. [Playing without Rashid today] We missed Rashid Khan, but our spinners bowled really well in the middle. Sediq's innings was very good, and I enjoyed the left-right combination out there. That's why we won the series. [Alien conditions] Before we came here, we had a camp in Birmingham where the weather was similar. We had good preparation, and we're very fortunate with how our top order is performing - we've seen lots of centuries and fifties. Inshallah, we want to continue this in the next series."

6:42 pm Afghanistan sealed a 4-0 series sweep on the back of a mammoth partnership between Rahmat Shah and Sediqullah Atal. Ireland struck early in the powerplay when McCarthy removed Zadran with a short ball in the fourth over. With McCarthy dismissing both openers cheaply inside the first six overs, Afghanistan found themselves in early trouble as the home bowlers squeezed the scoring rate down below three an over. From there, Shah and Atal rebuilt steadily before raising the tempo through sharp strike rotation and timely boundaries. Their marathon 201-run stand finally came to an end when Atal was caught at deep square leg for 98. Shah anchored the chase with immense composure, while Azmatullah Omarzai provided the late power-hitting boost to take the game completely away from Ireland. Omarzai fell for a quickfire 24 off 14, caught at short third in the 47th over, but the skipper stayed through to the end, finishing unbeaten on a brilliant 143 off 133 balls. McCarthy was the standout bowler for Ireland, claiming three wickets while keeping things tight. The post-match presentation is coming up next.

halfvolley: "Every one talking about how Afghans won this without some key players"

Shafiq: "Rahmat Shah should try to reach the 150-unique mark. Oh no, Hashmat! You ruined the party."

Afghanistan won by 6 wickets

Scores Level