Afghanistan vs Ireland, Afghanistan v Ireland in India, 2019, Today Match Prediction 08 Mar 2019

afg vs ire Match Prediction & Analysis

Afghanistan was bettered by Ireland in the last ODI match and Afghanistan batting seems to falter to put up a big score on board. A win in this match would ensure they won`t lose the ODI series. Hazaratullah Zazai has been amongst the runs getting good starts to the team. Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rahmat Shah and Skipper Ashgar Afghan have scored fifties and are in good touch. Najibullah Zadran scored a valiant century last match to maximize his team`s total last match. Afghanistan bowlers were taken for runs after their excellent showing in the first ODI. Rashid Khan and Mujjeb Ur Rahman are their main bowlers in the team. Gulbadin Naib may return to the playing XI in this match as the series is at stake. Ireland and Afghanistan have an 11-11 win record in their head to head clashes. 

Ireland has won their first match in this tour after failing in four matches and one match ended as a no result. Andrew Balbirnie played an excellent knock of unbeaten 145 to win the match for their team. George Dockrell has been amongst the runs whenever he batted. They no real contribution from other batsmen except Paul Stirling`s fighting 89 in the first ODI.

Ireland bowlers have done well to restrict Afghanistan team to scores in 250 ranges in the last two matches. Andy McBrine and Boyd Rankin has been bowling well and has taken wickets at crucial junctures. Spinners Simi Singh and George Dockrell has performed their roles to perfection so far in the middle over’s. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Afghanistan Preview

Key Players:

Mohammed Shahzad – He is under pressure to perform and he was already dropped from the T20Is. He needs to show his batting abilities to stake a claim in the team`s playing XI. 

Mohammed Nabi – Nabi is having a silent tournament so far. He is an excellent player with abilities to contribute with both bat and ball. He is playing a bit lower than his usual batting position in this series. 

Stats from the series:

Hazaratullah Zazai – 126 runs, Average – 42, Strike rate -107, Hs-67, 50s-1

Dawlat Zadran – 5 wickets at an economy of 4.4 (BB-3/35).

Afghanistan Predicted Playing XI:

Asghar Afghan (c), Mohammed Shahzad (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Dawlat Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi.

Afghanistan Actual Playing XI:

Ikram Ali Khil, Aftab Alam, Noor Ali Zadran, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Hazratullah Zazai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, N Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah

Ireland Preview

Key Players:

George Dockrell – Dockrell is having an excellent series with both bat and ball. He has scored 91 runs and took 5 wickets with his superb bowling.  

Andy McBrine – McBrine`s addition has strengthened the bowling line up of Ireland. His wicket taking abilities has proved pivotal in restricting Afghanistan in both the matches he played. 

Stats from the series:

Andrew Balbirnie – 147 runs, Average – 147, Strike rate -94, Hs-145*, 100s-1

 

Boyd Rankin – 5 wickets at an economy of 5.1 (BB-2/48)

Ireland Predicted Playing XI:

William Porterfield (c), Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie, Simi Singh, George Dockrell, Stuart Poynter (wk), Kevin O Brien, Tim Murtagh, Boyd Rankin, Andy McBrine, James Cameron-Dow.

Ireland Actual Playing XI:

Kevin O'Brien, Simi Singh, Andy McBrine, George Dockrell, WTS Porterfield, Paul Stirling, WB Rankin, Stuart Poynter, Tim Murtagh, James Cameron, Andy Balbirnie

Weather Conditions

Both the teams would be accustomed the pitch after playing a lot of matches here. The pitch aids the bowlers to a certain extent and ball grips and turns for the slower bowlers. The average score here would be 260-270 runs. We have 20% chances of rain and it may not be strong enough to stop the entire match. 

Toss: WIN the toss, BAT First

Teams winning the toss has bowled first in the all the three matches played here but contrastingly the two matches completed are won by teams batting second. Any score above 270 will be tough to chase here. Both teams will look to win the toss and bat first to put pressure on the opposition.