Ireland vs Afghanistan 2nd T20i Match Prediction
Match: IRE vs AFG T20i Match Prediction
Time: 11 Aug, 08:00 PM (IST)
Series: 2nd T20i Match
Venue: Civil Service Cricket Club – Belfast
Info:
Lorcan Tucker scored 50 runs from 32 balls to maintain his excellent form of late. The keeper-batter is well worth backing as Ireland’s highest run scorer in this match. With the ball, Josh Little has taken at least one wicket in his last 11 T20I appearances. The left-arm pace bowler is our tip for Ireland’s top wicket taker against Afghanistan
Opener Usman Ghani hit 59 runs from 42 balls at the top of the order on Tuesday. The right-handed batter is our pick for Afghanistan’s highest run scorer against Ireland. Rashid Khan went wicketless in the opening game of the series but he is a smart bowler and he will bounce back. The spinner is a strong choice for Afghanistan’s top wicket taker on Thursday.
We recommend backing Rashid Khan to take over 1.5 wickets in this clash.
Live Streaming:
TV channels: This game will be shown live on BT Sport in Ireland and the UK.
Live Streaming: Fans can stream the match on FanCode.
Weather & Pitch Report:
⛅ Weather:
Constant sunshine from start to finish of the second IT20. The temperature should reach 24 degrees in the opening exchanges.
🏟️ Pitch:
It was the pace bowlers who had the upper hand over the spin bowlers in the first game of the series. We expect good bounce on this wicket again in this match with a par score between 170-175.
Toss Prediction:
Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first in Belfast on Tuesday. However, that approach did not come off and we expect both teams to want to bowl first ahead of this match.
Recent Form:
IRE:
W, L, L, L, L
✅ ❌❌❌ ❌
AFG:
L, W, W, W, W
❌✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Team News:
IRE Team News:
The home side have a tight-knit group of players and there are not many players hammering the door down to take a place in the XI. As expected, Ireland were unchanged from their 2-0 defeat against South Africa and, now they have registered a victory, we do not foresee changes ahead of this match.
AFG Team News:
Although the team management will have been disappointed to see Afghanistan beaten, they will have taken plenty of positives from the way they fought and kept the game alive until the penultimate delivery. There are no injury worries ahead of this match.
IRE Predicted11
Paul Stirling
Andy Balbirnie (c)
Lorcan Tucker (wk)
Harry Tector
George Delany
Curtis Campher
George Dockrell
Mark Adair
Andy McBrine
Barry McCarthy
Josh Little
AFG Predicted11
R 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
Winning Chances:
Who will win today’s match: IRE vs AFG T20i Match Fantasy Team
Afghanistan came into this series in excellent form and as favourites, but Ireland showed that they should never be written off in spite of recent results. We expect this match to go the distance and there to not be much between the sides. Overall we are predicting a win for Afghanistan.
Final Verdict
Afghanistan are favourites to beat Ireland
IRE Key Players:
Andy Balbirnie:
The 31 year old right handed captain had a top score of 14 from the IT20s against South Africa and New Zealand. However, he top scored with 51 runs from 28 balls at the top of the order on Tuesday.
Lorcan Tucker:
Ireland have shown faith in the keeper-batter by promoting him up the order and he has responded with two half-centuries from his last three IT20 innings.
Josh Little:
The 22 year old dismissed Azmatullah Omarzai in the first game of the series. He is very rarely the most economical in his side but can be relied upon to take wickets.
AFG Key Players:
Usman Ghani:
The right-handed opener struck his fourth half-century in this format on Tuesday. He averages 26.40 with a strike-rate of 111.11.
Rashid Khan:
The white ball specialist has now gone two successive games, one for Trent Rockets and one for Afghanistan, without taking a wicket. It would be a big surprise if it became three.
Naveen ul-Haq:
The right arm fast medium bowler delivered balls with genuine pace on this pitch on Tuesday. He dismissed the dangerous Lorcan Tucker at the end of the 18th over to give Afghanistan hope.
Team Form:
IRE Team Form:
Ireland can now target back to back wins in this format after experiencing eight successive defeats. This is a great opportunity to build confidence in the squad.