T20 World Cup: Ireland vs Afghanistan – Match Updates And Predictions

The world is ready to witness another battle of the T20 World Cup tournament, which has been scheduled to take place at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Moreover, the battle will be taking place between Ireland and Afghanistan on 28th October.

Team of Afghanistan

The team couldn’t complete their recent face-off against New Zealand because of rain, also they couldn’t register a victory against England in their first match. The team, however, is considered to have strong batting options but they couldn’t come up with their best performance and managed to score just 112 against the team of England. According to reports, Ibrahim Zadran was successful in scoring the highest with 32 runs in 32 deliveries, with the help of three boundaries and one huge six. Also, Usman Ghani was the other batter who managed to gather runs on the board, by scoring 30 runs. 

Moreover, their bowling unit comprises stunning skippers, but they failed to defend a low target on the board and leaked the target of 113 runs in 18.1 overs. But out of those bowlers, Rashid Khan could be witnessed as the most successful one from their side, who managed to pick one wicket in four overs against 22 runs. Along with him, Mohammad Nabi also contributed and picked one wicket in three overs while he was charged with 16 runs. 

Afghanistan Playing XI

Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wicketkeeper), Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (Captain of the team), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Team of Ireland

On the other hand, Ireland’s performance in recent matches has managed to present their potential and outstanding progress. They were successful in beating the team of England, which is by far considered as one of the strongest teams of the T20 World Cup. Though the match was interrupted due to rain and was ultimately decided by ‘DLS’, their batting side managed to score 157 runs, and as per reports Andrew Balbirnie managed to score the highest runs. He managed to register 62 runs in 47 balls. Along with him, Lorcan Tucker also performed well, by securing 34 runs. 

However, their bowling options managed to showcase their incredible performance by leaking 105 runs in 14.3 overs. Among their bowling options, Joshua Little was the most successful one who picked two wickets in three overs against 16 runs. Other bowlers like George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, and Barry McCarthy picked one wicket each. 

Ireland Playing XI

Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (Captain of the team), Lorcan Tucker (Wicketkeeper), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little.

Predicted Assumptions of this T20 World Cup Match

Based on previous records, the Afghanistan team had played 23 T20 matches against Ireland. And, out of those Afghanistan managed to register 16 victories, whereas Ireland won 7 matches against Afghanistan.

Also, Afghanistan is considered as an overall strong team on being compared to Ireland. With plenty of strong hitters by their side, the chance of winning the upcoming match seems to be more in favour of Afghanistan. Also, the number of victories in the T20 format are more on their side. 

However, the key players of Ireland can be witnessed performing well and are in good form. And after beating England, Ireland is expected to retain their recent form and showcase their potential. With both the teams setting a tough competition to each other, the match is likely to be an interesting one.