Ireland seek respite against relentless Afghanistan

Overview

Afghanistan v Ireland2nd ODI
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradun
Saturday, 2 March; 13.00 local, 07.30am GMT

After seven internationals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun, Afghanistan are unbeaten. That includes all four matches of their ongoing series against Ireland.

Ireland have been stretched like never before. Remember, this is the team that was once competing against the likes of England. They have fought hard and tried their best. But Afghanistan have been overpowering. How else does one explain a team racking up a total of 194 in a T20 match and still losing by 84 runs?

It was in that same match that Afghanistan registered the biggest team total in T20 cricket, the second-highest individual score in T20Is, and the biggest partnership for any wicket in T20 cricket.

Then, there is their spin bowling might. Rashid Khan took 11 wickets in the three T20Is. In the first ODI, Ireland conceded only one wicket to him. But long before he came on to bowl, Mujeeb Ur Rahman had reduced Ireland to 14/3 in his opening spell. If Ireland somehow manage to play out both spinners, there’s Dawlat Zadran lurking, with nine wickets in his last four matches.

Afghanistan’s bowling packs so much power that it usually hides their abilities as a batting unit – their No. 9 has an ODI average of 22 and a strike-rate in excess of 100.

Ireland have a lot of talent in their XI, but as things stand, it doesn't add up. To notch up a win on this tour, Ireland need to cut through a deep Afghanistan batting line-up, curb their natural flair for hitting, play out their two spinners, and get enough runs off potentially 30 overs, discounting Rahman and Khan. On the surface, that might be wishful thinking, but with four matches remaining there is enough time to make it happen.

Key players Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan): The off-spinner routinely returns Test-match figures in ODIs. If his career economy rate of 3.74 isn’t indication enough, the corresponding number against Ireland is 3.28. In the first ODI, he conceded his first run off his 20th ball and delivered 51 dots totally. That’s eight-and-a-half overs of no scoring just against a single bowler. Not the sort of figures teams want to be dealing with to put up a match-winning total.

Paul Stirling (Ireland): The opening batsman has been one of the most consistent batsmen over the past few weeks. He followed up his three half-centuries at the Oman Quadrangular T20I Series with 50-ball 91 in the second T20I against Afghanistan and 89 in the first ODI. Stirling will need a lot more support than he got in the previous game if Ireland are to compete. Nevertheless, his good form will once again make him key to their chances.

Conditions

The previous ODI was the first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. However, the ground has hosted six T20 internationals, and the average first-innings score has been steadily climbing. While the average for the first three games is 148, that number has gone up to 206 in the three most recent games. There could be scattered showers early on Saturday morning. There is no rain forecast during playing hours, although overhead conditions will be cloudy.

Squads

Afghanistan: Asghar Afghan (c), Fareed Ahmad, Javed Ahmadi, Aftab Alam, Ikram Ali Khil, Noor Ali Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Zahir Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Samiullah Shenwari, Sayed Shirzad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Dawlat Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Hazrat Zazai

Ireland: William Porterfield (c), Andrew Balbirnie, James Cameron-Dow, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Stuart Poynter (wk), Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker