- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Match Complete
Afghanistan
Match Complete
Ireland
Show Full Scoreboard
Hide Full Scoreboard
Show Preview
After the most stunning of victories against England, Ireland seek to back up the win and move to the top of Group 1 with a win against Afghanistan at the MCG. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 3pm (AEDT).
Hopefully the Irish have kept the partying to a minimum after their rain affected win against England on Wednesday night. With Australia also in a little trouble heading into the second part of the Super 12 phase, they now have a chance to advance even further in the tournament.
With the Aussies and England to do battle later tonight, a win for the Irish against a team over whom they will consider themselves a chance is simply a must. Against England, the Republic bowled, fielded and batted well, with rain eventually helping them out with just a few balls to spare.
Afghanistan are far from England’s level, yet did perform well against them last Saturday in poor conditions, pushed both Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the recent Asia Cup and beat Bangladesh in the early stages of that tournament.
Ibrahim Zadran and Usman Ghani will be vital for Afghanistan in the top order after solid knocks against England, and Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid Khan could well be potential match-winners with the ball.
Ireland will be hopeful of more excellent batting from captain Andy Balbirnie after his half-century against England, and will be keen to see more accurate and pressure bowling from Mark Adair in the early overs.
Hopefully some better weather greets the players in Melbourne after constant interruptions that have beset the early stages of the tournament, and the MCG stages what could be a vitally important match for Ireland’s chances of advancing beyond the group stage.
Prediction
This looks like a T20 International that could go either way, with the momentum of the Irish up against the guile of the Afghani bowling attack.
I’m going against the bookies in this one and expect to see Irish mouths smiling come the final ball of the match.
Venue: MCG
First ball: 3pm (AEDT)
TV: Fox Cricket
Live stream: Kayo Sports
Odds: Afghanistan $1.65, Ireland $2.25 – odds via PlayUp
Squads
Afghanistan
Mohammad Nabi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen-ul-Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, Salim Safi, Usman Ghani.
Ireland
Andy Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Conor Olphert, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker.
Hide Preview