Ireland and Afghanistan will lock horns in the second One Day International of the two-match series in Belfast on Tuesday. The series is the part of the Afghan national team's preparations for the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup. In the series opener, it was the home side who came out on top with a comfortable 72-run margin at the same venue on Sunday.
Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast will be used as the venue for the contest, which will be hosting its 29th ODI on Tuesday. Highest team score of 301-5 at the venue in a 50-over contest was registered by England in 2005, whereas lowest team total of 96 was registered by the home side in 2011. Highest individual score of 160 not out at the ground in an ODI was registered by Ireland's Ed Joyce, whereas best bowling figures of 4-12 was registered by two bowlers -- Pakistan's Junaid Khan and South Africa's Vernon Philander.
Therefore, the hosts will enter the contest full of confidence and will be looking to seal the series win on Tuesday. In the batting department, Ireland will be relying on captain William Porterfield, veteran all-rounders Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on pacers Boyd Rankin, Tim Murtagh and left-arm spinner George Dockrell to produce timely breakthroughs.
On the other hand, Afghanistan will enter the contest a little shaken after defeat in the
Ireland and Afghanistan will lock horns in the second One Day International of the two-match series in Belfast on Tuesday. The series is the part of the Afghan national team's preparations for the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup. In the series opener, it was the home side who came out on top with a comfortable 72-run margin at the same venue on Sunday.
Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast will be used as the venue for the contest, which will be hosting its 29th ODI on Tuesday. Highest team score of 301-5 at the venue in a 50-over contest was registered by England in 2005, whereas lowest team total of 96 was registered by the home side in 2011. Highest individual score of 160 not out at the ground in an ODI was registered by Ireland's Ed Joyce, whereas best bowling figures of 4-12 was registered by two bowlers -- Pakistan's Junaid Khan and South Africa's Vernon Philander.
Therefore, the hosts will enter the contest full of confidence and will be looking to seal the series win on Tuesday. In the batting department, Ireland will be relying on captain William Porterfield, veteran all-rounders Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on pacers Boyd Rankin, Tim Murtagh and left-arm spinner George Dockrell to produce timely breakthroughs.
On the other hand, Afghanistan will enter the contest a little shaken after defeat in the first ODI and will look to finish their preparations for the mega event. In the batting department, the visitors will be relying on the likes of wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad, Hazratullah Zazai and former captain Asghar Afghan to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the leg-spin duo of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman to produce timely breakthroughs.
Player Recommendations:
Batsman: William Porterfield (9.5 Cr)
First in the list of key players features Ireland's William Porterfield. The left-hander is a seasoned campaigner for the home side as he has already scored 3,943 runs at an average of 31.29 in 132 matches, which included 11 centuries and 17 fifties.
Wicket-keeper: Mohammad Shahzad (9 Cr)
Second in the list of key players features Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad. The wicketkeeper-batsman is an important member of the team, more so because of what he brings on the table with the bat in hand where he has scored 2,619 runs at an average of 33.57 in 81 ODIs, which included five centuries and 14 fifties.
All-rounder: Paul Stirling (10 Cr)
Third in the list of key players features Ireland's Paul Stirling. The 28-year-old is a proven talent in white-ball cricket where he has scored 3,847 runs at an average of 36.63 in 110 ODIs, which included eight centuries and 20 half-centuries. That's not it as Stirling also has 41 wickets to his name.
Bowler: Rashid Khan (10 Cr)
Last in the list of key players features Afghanistan's Rashid Khan. The right-arm leggie is being renowned as the best leg-spinner playing the game in the white-ball cricket where he has 125 wickets to his name in just 58 ODIs with an impressive average of 15.08 and strike-rate of 23.10.
Predicted Playing XI:
Ireland: Paul Stirling, James McCollum, Andy Balbirnie, William Porterfield (captain), Kevin O'Brien, Gary Wilson (wicketkeeper), George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Boyd Rankin
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad (wicketkeeper), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib (captain), Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
