The second match of Ireland’s five-match Twenty20 International series against Afghanistan will be played on Thursday afternoon in Stormont, Belfast. Ireland won the first game by seven wickets on Tuesday, chasing down a target of 169 with two balls remaining. Continue reading for a preview of the series’ second installment. The game begins at 15:30 local time.
After a summer of playing against some of the best teams in this format, Ireland finally got a win. They will now look to dominate this series and gain momentum ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Afghanistan will be disappointed to start the series with a loss, given their recent T20I form. However, they will be wiser and more familiar with the conditions in this game, and we expect them to respond.
Ireland vs Afghanistan
Match Details to Note
Match: Ireland vs Afghanistan, 2nd T20I, Afghanistan Tour of Ireland 2022
Date: August 11, 2022 (Thursday)
Time: 08:00 PM IST
Venue: Civil Service Cricket Club, Belfast
Ireland Team News:
The home team has a close-knit group of players, and there aren’t many players vying for a spot in the starting XI. Ireland remained unchanged from their 2-0 defeat against South Africa, and now that they have won, we do not expect any changes ahead of this match.
Ireland Squad
Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Curtis Campher, Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Fionn Hand, Stephen Doheny, Craig Young
Players to watch out for:
Andy Balbirnie
The 31-year-old right-handed captain had a best T20I score of 14 against South Africa and New Zealand. On Tuesday, however, he led the way with 51 runs from 28 balls at the top of the order.
Lorcan Tucker
Ireland boosted the keeper-batter up the order, and he has responded with two half-centuries in his last three T20I innings.
Josh Little
The 22 year old defeated Azmatullah Omarzai in the first game of the series. He is rarely the most economical player in his team, but he can be counted on to take wickets.
Possible Playing XI:
Paul Stirling, Andy Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, George Delany, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little
Ireland Team Form
Ireland can now aim for back-to-back wins in this format after suffering eight consecutive defeats. This is an excellent opportunity to instill confidence in the team.
Afghanistan Team News:
Although the team management will be disappointed to see Afghanistan lose, they will take many positives from the way they fought and kept the game alive until the final delivery. There are no injuries to report ahead of this game.
Afghanistan Squad
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Usman Ghani, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Afsar Zazai, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Karim Janat, Hazratullah Zazai, Darwish Rasooli, Noor Ahmad
Players to watch out for:
Usman Ghani
On Tuesday, the right-handed opener hit his fourth half-century in this format. He has a strike rate of 111.11 and an average of 26.40.
Rashid Khan
The white ball specialist has now gone two games without a wicket, one for Trent Rockets and one for Afghanistan. It would be a huge shock if it became three.
Naveen ul-Haq
On this pitch on Tuesday, the right-arm fast medium bowler delivered balls with genuine pace. To give Afghanistan hope, he dismissed the dangerous Lorcan Tucker at the end of the 18th over.
Possible Playing XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Moarzai, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb ur Rahman
Afghanistan Team Form
Ireland became the first team to defeat Afghanistan in a Twenty20 International match since Bangladesh in March. Afghanistan was not at their best, but they came close to victory.
Ireland vs Afghanistan Top Team Batsmen
Our bat recommendations for Ireland are Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker, and Andy Balbirnie. Stirling got off to a slow start in the first game, but recovered to hit 31 runs off 29 balls.
Our batting picks for Afghanistan are Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Usman Ghani, and Najibullah Zadran. Gurbaz has a 132 strike rate in 23 innings in this format.
Ireland vs Afghanistan Top Team Bowlers
We expect Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, and Andy McBrine to be Ireland’s top bowlers. McCarthy recorded an impressive 3-34 in Tuesday’s game.
For Afghanistan, we like Rashid Khan, Naveen ul-Haq, and Mujeeb ur Rahman. In the first game of the series, Rahman defeated the dangerous Balbirnie.
Ireland vs Afghanistan Head to Head
Ireland finally defeated Afghanistan in this format for the fourth time after failing to do so in the previous 14 games. Ireland’s victory over Afghanistan on Tuesday was the country’s first in this format at home.
Ireland vs Afghanistan Head to Head Stats in T20I
| Matches Played | IRE Won | AFG Won | Tie | NR | |
| Overall | 19 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| Last 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Ireland vs Afghanistan Toss Prediction
On Tuesday, Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first in Belfast. However, that strategy did not work, and we anticipate that both teams will want to bowl first in this match.
Ireland vs Afghanistan Pitch Report
In the first game of the series, the pace bowlers had the upper hand over the spin bowlers. We anticipate good bounce on this wicket in this match, with a par score of 170-175.
The second T20I was played in bright sunshine from start to finish. During the initial exchanges, the temperature should reach 24 degrees.
Ireland vs Afghanistan Prediction
Afghanistan came into this series in excellent form and as favorites, but Ireland demonstrated that, regardless of recent results, they should never be written off. We anticipate that this match will go the distance and that there will not be much between the two teams. Overall, we believe Afghanistan will win.
