Afghanistan and Ireland gear up for a lengthy battle as they prepare to face off against each other in a series of clashes, across formats, till the end of this month. In what will be their first bilateral series at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground after shifting base from Sharjah, Afghanistan will lock horns with Ireland in nine matches, starting with the three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series that begins on Wednesday (March 8).
Fresh off a 3-2 One Day International (ODI) series victory against Zimbabwe, Afghanistan will be eager to extend their fine run in international cricket. But they will face a tough challenge in the form of Ireland, who have prepared themselves well for this series by securing a comfortable 2-0 win in the ODIs against UAE. Afghanistan though, will enter the series as favourites, considering the familiarity with the Asian conditions. Perhaps more importantly, their consultant coach - Phil Simmons - has extensive knowledge of the Irish players, having worked in the Ireland setup as head coach.
The last time these two sides faced off in a T20 game, Afghanistan routed Ireland, bowling them out for 71 before chasing down the target in 7.5 overs without losing a wicket, to clinch the Desert T20 Challenge title a couple of months back. Ireland though would be eager to put that loss behind them and will look to approach this series with renewed confidence.
Despite keeping their unbeaten streak in series against Zimbabwe intact, Afghanistan do have some chinks that they will be keen to iron out ahead of the clash against Ireland. Their main concern is the form of the top-order batsmen, whose failures meant that Afghanistan suffered collapses and were skittled out for totals of 126 and 111 in successive ODIs against Zimbabwe. While they did manage to come back in a strong fashion in the final match, they will be hoping for the batsmen to show some consistency.
In the batting department, Mohammad Shahzad will have a key role to play, with the team expecting him to provide the blistering starts that he has managed often in the shortest format. Skipper Asghar Stanikzai is another vital cog in the batting line-up, and he'll be expected to lead from the front.
A lot of focus will be on veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi and 18-year-old leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who were the first two Afghanistan players to be picked up by Indian Premier League teams during the auction held recently. The duo also fared well in the series against Zimbabwe, picking up 20 wickets between them, while Nabi was also useful with the bat lower down the order.
Afghanistan also have experienced names like Samiullah Shenwari and Dawlat Zadran, along with quality options like Gulbadin Naib and Amir Hamza, who will all have important roles to play when the series gets under way.
Meanwhile, Ireland will be keen to prove a point and lend credibility to their claim as a quality team that can challenge the bigger sides ruling the roost in cricket. They appeared to have overcome a poor 2016 with their their run to the final of the Desert T20, only to fall flat at the last step. The wins against UAE would have been of immense help in erasing those memories, but they will be well aware that they'll have to be at the top of their game going up against Afghanistan in conditions that will favour the Asian side.
Gary Wilson and Paul Stirling, who were among the top-three run-getters in the Desert competition, have extended their good run with handy knocks against UAE. Kevin O'Brien's quick-fire half-century in the second ODI against UAE augurs well for the European side, which will hope for more such explosive knocks from the batsman. Most of all, what will hold them in good stead is that the skipper, William Porterfield, has finally hit the straps with big knocks following a barren run before the series against UAE.
Among the bowlers, the experienced Boyd Rankin and George Dockrell will be expected to keep the opposition batsmen in check while the 21-year-old leg-spinner Jacob Mulder, who impressed in the T20 tournament recently - finishing as the highest wicket-taker - will have a key role to play.
Did you know?
1 - This is the first time Afghanistan and Ireland are facing each other in a bilateral T20I series. Before this, they had played only one bilateral series - four ODI matches in July 2016 - which was a drawn affair.
4-3 - Afghanistan's head to head record against Ireland in Twenty20 Internationals. All their T20 clashes have come in Asia (One match in Colombo, four matches in Dubai and two matches in Abu Dabhi).
75 - The number of runs William Porterfield needs to become the first Ireland player with 1000 runs in T20Is
What they said:
"Yes, I know them (Ireland players) all and can talk about them but it's up to the players to execute (the plans). It doesn't matter what I say, they have to go out and perform. We'll see how they do" - Phil Simmons, Afghanistan's consultant coachTeams:Ireland (From): Paul Stirling, William Porterfield(c), Kevin O'Brien, Gary Wilson(w), Greg Thompson, Andy McBrine, George Dockrell, Joshua Little, Jacob Mulder, Boyd Rankin, Craig Young, Stuart Thompson, Lorcan Tucker, Barry McCarthyAfghanistan (From): Mohammad Shahzad(w), Najeeb Tarakai, Samiullah Shenwari, Asghar Stanikzai(c), Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Rashid Khan, Amir Hamza, Fareed Ahmad, Usman Ghani, Karim Janat, Aftab Alam, Shafiqullah Shafiq, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Shapoor Zadran, Afsar Zazai
Monday, July 2, 2018
India vs Afghanistan 1st Test Match Prediction. Live Score
Today Match Prediction, 14th Jun 2018 to 18th Jun 2018. Who will win India vs Afghanistan 1st Test 2018? India vs Afghanistan Cricket Predictions. Who will win Afg vs Ind Match Prediction? Afghanistan Tour of India 2018. Get Afghanistan vs India, live score, Live Cricket, Cricket Score, Live Cricket Score and True Match Prediction from Cricbooth.com
Afghanistan will play their debut Test match against India at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from June 14 to 18. As India is at # 1 position in ICC Test ranking. Afghanistan, who will become the 12th test playing nation on Thursday, have unlimited potential -and Afghan captain Stanikzai is confident that the recent drubbing of Bangladesh has lifted the morale of the side, despite the win coming in the shortest format of the game.
"We are ready for the Test match against India - our morale is high," the Captain said after his teams defeted Bangladesh by one run in the third and final T20I here on Thursday.
"Last couple of years we have performed very well. the team wants to achieve it for Afghanistan. You see the batsmen, bowlers are all in good form."
Not a regular game of cricket was played in the country 15 or even 10 years ago, it was simply played in refugee camps in Pakistan, yet this week Afghan cricket team will take on India.
India vs Afghanistan key players and analysis
Debut and only test Afghanistan vs India will be played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. If we look past record about pitch it will be batting and spin track and it will favor the spin Blowers. At this spinning track Rashid khan the man behind Afghanistan 3-0 win against Bangladesh will be very effective and frontman for Afghanistan against India. India has strong batting line-up which can destroy any blowing line up of the world.
Who will Win? India vs Afghanistan Test Match Predictions.
Afghanistan has a young and energetic team. But if we look India past record they play very well at their home ground. It will be a good match but there are great chances India will win the only test against Afghanistan.india has a strong batting line up as well as they have good spinners who can destroy Afghan batting line up.
Live Cricket, Cricket Score, Live Cricket Score.
You can enjoy Live Cricket, Cricket Score, Live Cricket Score and analysis on cricbooth.com. You can follow our twitter and FB page for more updates.
SQUADS FOR AFGHANISTAN TOUR OF INDIA, 2018
India Team For Test Against Afghanistan
Ajinkya Rahane(c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav,Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Thakur,Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Karun Nair, Umesh Yadav, Dinesh Karthik
Afghanistan Team For 1st Test Against India
Afghanistan Squad: Asghar Stanikzai(c),Rashid Khan, Zahir Khan, Amir Hamza,Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afsar Zazai, Mohammad Nabi, Sayed Shirzad, Mohammad Shahzad, Javed Ahmadi, Ihsanullah Janat, Rahmat Shah, Nasir Jamal, Yamin Ahmadzai, Wafadar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)