Afghanistan set to play their next Test match in 2019

Afghanistan stepped into the new world of Test cricket earlier this week when they faced the number 1 side in the format India in Bengaluru. The game didn’t go as planned for them as it was a horrible outing for them. The hosts wrapped up the match within two days while dismissing the debutants twice in two sessions and won the game by an innings and 262 runs. It was a steep learning curve for Afghanistan as they will only improve after this and are set to play their next Test match in 2-19.

Despite the fact that the batsmen failed to impress, their bowling attack came to the party on the first day but not before conceding a huge amount of runs. They struggled in the first couple of sessions and then found their groove in the final hour of the day. India lost 5 wickets after Tea and could only score 99 runs in 32 overs which proved that they are set to embrace Test cricket with open arms.

Who is the opponent?

Afghanistan will face Ireland in February next year. The news was confirmed by the CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) Shafiq Stanikzai while speaking to Sportstar. “We have our plan set till 2019 World Cup. The team is touring Ireland in August, we are playing Asia Cup and then a domestic T20 league. The preparation for World Cup and our next Test (against Ireland in February 2019) is also in place,” he said while talking about the future tours of the team.

As of now, there are no more details about the game and it might be announced soon once the fixtures of Afghanistan are finalised for the upcoming season.

Ireland also lost their first ever Test match against Pakistan in the last month. But they fared much better than Afghanistan and took the game to five days while threatening the opposition to beat at one stage as well.

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