Aug 09, 2022
20:00 IST / 14:30 GMT
Civil Service Cricket Club - Belfast, Ireland
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Afghanistan are favorites to win
Ireland host Afghanistan in Match 1 of a five-game IT20 series on Tuesday afternoon in Stormont, Belfast. The hosts have lost IT20 series this summer to India, New Zealand and South Africa without winning one match. Afghanistan last played this format in June when they beat Zimbabwe 3-0 away. Read on as we preview this opening game of the series. The match gets underway at 15:30 local time.
Ireland have been judged to have been playing good cricket over recent weeks but have lacked that final bit of quality or the rub of the green to get over the line. They should not assume that Afghanistan will be an easier opponent.
Afghanistan caught the eye of many neutrals with their displays against the big teams during last year’s T20 World Cup. They have been in strong form since then and should be confident ahead of this series opener.
TV channels: The live TV coverage is yet to be announced.
Live Streaming: Fans can stream the match on Fancode in India.
Ireland chose to field first in two of the three IT20s against New Zealand at this venue last month. With Ireland preferring to chase and Afghanistan’s main strength in bowling, we expect to see both teams wanting to field first.
There will be some turn on offer from the wicket but we expect pace bowlers to get a bit more assistance. We predict a par score to be no higher than 170..
22 degrees from start to finish of this game. Partly cloudy but no chance of rain interruptions.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds, and match prediction for Ireland vs Afghanistan 1st T20 Match 2022
Although Ireland are going through a wretched run of results in this format, the team management have made it clear that the group of players who they selected for recent series are their best available and have selected them again. All who played in the second T20I against South Africa in Bristol are fit and available.
Ireland have lost eight consecutive IT20s since beating Oman in February. They have been playing against some of the best sides in this format over recent months.
Paul Stirling, Andy Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, George Delany, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little
The visitors included spinner Rashid Khan in their squad which means that he will miss games for Trent Rockets in The Hundred to come and play in this series. As one of the world’s top spinners, that gives Afghanistan a massive boost. Afghanistan have plenty of experience in the batting department and have no injury worries.
Afghanistan have won each of their last four IT20 matches. Their last defeat in this format came against Bangladesh in March.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Afsar Zazai (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Azmatullah Moarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad
The last time these sides met in this format, they produced a tied game in Greater Noida with both sides posting 142. Ireland won the subsequent Superover but have not beaten Afghanistan across a 20-over game since 2013.
| Matches Played | IRE Won | AFG Won | Tie | NR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 18 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| Last 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
Afghanistan are favourites to take a 1-0 lead in the series by winning this match. The bookies have taken the view that the visitors have the edge over the hosts with bat and ball.
In the build-up to the 2022 T20 World Cup, Ireland will benefit from the continuity of selection that we have seen and their players will be game-ready for the tournament. Afghanistan have a very strong XI in this format and have excellent variety in their bowling attack.
We are backing Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker and Andy Balbirnie with the bat for Ireland. Skipper Balbirnie has hit seven international centuries in his career and has a strike-rate of 125.61.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai and Afsar Zazai are our batting picks for Afghanistan. Gurbaz is only 20 years old but has already scored three ODI centuries and three IT20 fifties.
Josh Little, Andy McBrine and Mark Adair are our recommendations to be the top bowlers for Ireland. Adair dismissed the dangerous big-hitting Dwaine Pretorius in the last IT20 against South Africa.
We expect Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Naveen ul-Haq to star with the ball for Afghanistan. Ahmad took 4-10 in his last IT20 appearance.
There will be a tendency for some cricket supporters to assume that Ireland will finally get an IT20 win in this game after successive defeats to South Africa, New Zealand and India. However, that would be a foolish assumption as Afghanistan have a strong squad with a group of players who have experience in these conditions. We are predicting a tight match but with a win for Afghanistan.
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IRE vs AFG 1st T20 
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