IRE vs AFG 1st ODI Match Prediction

IRE vs AFG Team Previews

Ireland

It must be hurting for the Irish side to sit back and watch other teams come and test themselves out ahead of the mega ICC event while they themselves sit back and watch the tournament unfold. Having said that, Ireland will be pretty content with the game time they are getting ahead of the tournament.

Afghanistan just managed to book a berth in the 10-team tournament ahead of Ireland and that is what might sting the most when they face the Asian side in the upcoming series. Ireland would not want to come out second again, especially after being demolished by Bangladesh and West Indies.

Apart from their back to back losses in the tri-series, Ireland have plenty of positive points going for them in the upcoming series. They don't really have to acclimatize to the conditions which is always a huge thing while playing in this part of the world. Other than that, their batsmen, especially Andy Barbirnie has been in splendid form and smashed a remarkable hundred not long ago.

Their bowling, however, hasn't done as well as they'd have liked, but considering Afghanistan's lack of experience of playing in cold and windy conditions, they might have that extra bit of margin for error. Also, to add to that, the Asian side isn't known as well for their batting as Bangladesh or West Indies are, and with conditions likely to favor quick bowlers, the Irishmen will be fancying their chances.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan haven't really played a lot of cricket since the change in their captaincy from Asghar Afghan to Gulbadin Naib. One of their matches was washed out due to rain while in the other match, which was cut short due to rain, they just managed to sneak in with a three-run win as per DLS method. Things could have been tighter had the match gone on for full length.

They'll have a tough call on whether to include Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi in their playing eleven, both of whom are returning from a pretty taxing Indian Premier League. Barring those two, Afghanistan do not really have a bowling attack which will both the Irish batsmen. As seen against Scotland, their other bowlers lack the same kind of penetration as Rashid Khan and Nabi and their bowling will definitely not be strong enough.

Their batting, however, looked in strong hands with the likes of Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Shahzad, and Hashmatullah Shahidi displaying some fine form in the last few encounters. Historically, Afghanistan have been neck and neck with the Irish side despite having a relatively late entry to the international scene.