Afghanistan vs Ireland, 5th ODI, Preview: Confident hosts aim to wrap up series after resounding victory

The Afghans are expected to continue experimenting with their playing eleven.

Published - 09 Mar 2019, 17:39 IST | Updated - 09 Mar 2019, 17:39 IST

View : 1K

2 Min Read

If anyone wonders why cricket is referred to as a team’s sport, the ongoing ODI series between Afghanistan and Ireland will clearly tell you why. While the heroics from Andrew Balbirnie took Ireland over the line in the 3rd ODI, they failed in the fourth as no one else played a knock similar to that. The Irish men have failed to play together as one team and this has led to their downfall.

Contrarily, there has been someone or the other who rose up to the challenge for Afghanistan in every other game. Every time the side was seemingly in trouble, the players took the onus upon themselves and complemented each other well. Thus, they lead the series 2-1 and the hosts will look to seal it when they take the field in the last game.

Team Combinations

Afghanistan

Afghanistan have got a pretty huge squad for this series and they have constantly rotated their players. Therefore, predicting their eleven gets slightly tough. Mohammad Shahzad could be back for this crucial encounter. They might even rope Javed Ahmadi into the eleven alongside Samiullah Shenwari. After the wonderful show in the last game, Aftab Alam is likely to retain his place.

Predicted XI: Mohammad Shahzad (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan (C), Javed Ahmadi, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Ireland

As far as the Ireland team is concerned, there isn’t as much confusion about their playing eleven. They have retained their eleven for most of the games in the series. They could go into the fifth ODI with an unchanged eleven. The side will have to focus on their batting if they are to come close to a victory.

Predicted XI: William Porterfield (C), Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie, Andy McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, Simi Singh, Stuart Poynter (WK), George Dockrell, Tim Murtagh, James Cameron-Dow, Boyd Rankin.

Focus will be on

Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

Rashid Khan was the ‘Man of the Match’ in the last game. He scored a valuable fifty with the bat when the chips were down for the home team. The Nangarhar-born was great with the ball as well. The leg-spinner will have an important role to play yet again. He will look to explore new ways of getting the Ireland batsmen out.

Paul Stirling (Ireland)

After the breezy innings in the 2nd T20I earlier, Paul Stirling hasn’t lived up to the expectations in the ODI series. He is one of the senior statesmen in the Ireland squad and will have to take up the responsibility of the batting lineup. Stirling has got to be very picky with his shot selection and should avoid taking risks.