Afghanistan vs Ireland, AFG vs IRE 2024, Today Match Prediction 07 March 2024

AFG vs IRE Match Prediction & Analysis

It’s all about getting the monkey off the back, and then things start to happen. Or just so it appears. A fleeting look at the head to head underscores Afghanistan’s dominance over Ireland in this format. It stands at 4-1, with that lone Ireland win coming way back in 2019 at Belfast. Afghanistan won the subsequent Belfast ODI in that series and went on to win all the three matches of the 2021 ODI series in Abu Dhabi.

That clearly puts into perspective how precious Ireland’s test victory was against Afghanistan. Not only did it get them their first win in the longer format, but it also instilled in Irish the belief that a test win against a nation like Afghanistan in foreign conditions is not an aberration by any means. It’s a result of years of hard work and the outcome of choosing skilled players who’ve it in them to execute their skills under any condition.

Coming into this ODI series, the Irish will be looking to channelize that same energy that allowed them to get the monkey off the back and put pressure on Afghanistan right from the word go.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

AFG

L L L

SL

267/3 in 35.2 7.56

SL vs AFG 2024

Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by 7 wickets 14 Feb 2024

AFG

266/10 in 48.2 5.5

SL

308/6 in 50.0 6.16

SL vs AFG 2024

Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by 155 runs 11 Feb 2024

AFG

153/10 in 33.5 4.52

SL

381/3 in 50.0 7.62

SL vs AFG 2024

Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by 42 runs 09 Feb 2024

AFG

339/6 in 50.0 6.78

IRE

W W

ZIM

197/10 in 40.0 4.92

ZIM vs IRE 2023

Ireland beat Zimbabwe by 7 wickets (D/L) method 17 Dec 2023

IRE

204/3 in 37.5 5.39

ZIM

166/10 in 42.5 3.88

ZIM vs IRE 2023

Ireland beat Zimbabwe by 4 wickets 15 Dec 2023

IRE

170/6 in 40.1 4.23

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Afghanistan Preview

Afghanistan losing a test in UAE to Ireland who’re yet to find their feet in test cricket comes as a shock. And that result must have rattled the Afghanistan players a touch. The batsmen certainly struggled facing the Irish pacers and folded quickly in the first innings for a paltry score, which put them at a disadvantage. And their bowlers did let Ireland run off to a more than decent score, which took the deficit past 100. And that was the match done for Afghanistan.

They could never get back in to the contest and batted better to climb up above 215, but it was never going to be enough. They needed much more than that to test the Irish batters in the fourth innings and their bowlers couldn’t make a fist of what they had in of the score to defend.

But ODI is a different ball game – one that Afghanistan understands a lot better and handles wholly differently. With the two spinners, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Rahman, missing in action due to an injury, their spin attack doesn’t look as threatening as it normally is. But they’ve a pretty good batting side and will be hoping that their batsmen will post huge totals that their bowlers can go out and defend.

Afghanistan Predicted Playing XI:

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Fazal Haq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Riaz Hassan, Farid Ahmad Malik, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ibrahim Zadran, Naveed Zadran

Afghanistan Actual Playing XI:

Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ibrahim Zadran, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Allah Ghazanfar

Ireland Preview

Ireland have met Afghanistan thirty times in the ODI format before all around the globe. But this fixture to be played in Sharjah will be a lot different. It comes of the back of the Ireland’s first ever test win against Afghanistan at the Tolerance oval. Ireland, after being asked to bowl first, displayed great skill and discipline with the bowl, running through the Afghanistan attack. The fast bowlers picked 19 of the 20 wickets to fall, with Mark Adair spearheading the attack successfully to finish with 5 scalps in the first and 3 in the second for a total match haul of 8 wickets.

Barry McCarthy and Craig Young bowled well in tandem in both innings. On the batting front, a lot of players put their hand up and scored valuable runs to give Ireland a big 108-run lead which proved to be match-winning in the end. Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie made half-centuries in the first and second innings respectively. A historical test win boosts your confidence like anything but shifting to the ODI format and to a totally different deck is not an east proposition.

And Ireland will certainly find tackling Afghannistan spinners on a dry and slow Sharjah wicket a very tough challenge to navigate. But they have the same core group of players from the test series fighting it out, and it should make for interesting viewing.

Ireland Predicted Playing XI:

Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Theo van Woerkom.

Ireland Actual Playing XI:

George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Harry Tector, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker, Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Theo van Woerkom, Craig Young

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The Sharjah surface, historically, has assisted spinners a great deal. And it’ll stay that way. Afghanistan have roped in some new names to reinforce their dwindling spin stocks whereas Irish have Andry McBrine and Theo van Woerkom who bowled well in pair in the test match. The forecast looks fine for the day and we’re hoping that the weather will hold up.

AFG vs IRE Pitch Report

This match will be played at the Sharjah International Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, UAE. Ireland and Afghanistan have played three matches at this venue up till now, of which Ireland have won 2 and lost 1.

Toss: To Bowl

Toss does play a big role in the shorter formats here, especially when the dew rolls in. And if the conditions get a little dewy, it’ll make batting in the second half a lot easier. And that’s a big advantage for the chasing team.