Afghans hit world record T20 score

Hazratullah Zazai smashed the ball to every corner of the ground, and even out of the stadium, as Afghanistan racked up a world record T20 score of 278/3 in a crushing demolition of Ireland on Saturday.

The 20-year-old Zazai's unbeaten 162 included 16 sixes and 11 fours, delighting Afghan fans here.

His haul of sixes was another record, as was his stand of 236 with fellow opener Usman Ghani and the 22 sixes scored in all by Afganistan's players.

Ireland captain Paul Stirling also hit a six off the first ball of his side's innings as they chased a mammoth 13.95 runs an over to keep up.

But they ended on 194/6 and Afghanistan won by 84 runs to wrap up the three-match series with a game to spare.

"It was a pretty disappointing night," said Stirling. "We need to regroup now."

The night of cricket fireworks belonged to Afghanistan -- who overtook Australia's 260-3 against Sri Lanka in 2016 -- and Zazai, who plundered his giant innings off just 62 balls.

"I just wanted to play my natural game and today was my day," he said. "The wicket was good for batting."

The final match of the series is on Sunday. The two play five one-day internationals from February 28 and a one-off Test in March.

Brief scores: Afghanistan: 278/3 in 20 overs (Hazratullah Zazai 162 n.o., Usman Ghani 73) bt Ireland: 194/6 in 20 overs (Paul Stirling 91, Kevin O' Brien 37; Rashid Khan 4-25).