T20 World Cup 2022: Match 25 - Predicted Ireland Playing XI vs Afghanistan

Afghanistan are set to clash with Ireland in the 25th match of the T20 World Cup 2022 at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday (October 28). Afghanistan lost their opening Super 12 Group 1 clash against England by five wickets while defending a low 113-run total.

Their second clash against New Zealand was abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain. They are now placed at bottom of Group 1 with just one point and remain the only team in their group that is yet to win a match.

Meanwhile, Ireland shocked the cricketing world by a narrow five-run win (D/L) against giants England in their last fixture after suffering a huge nine-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in their opening Super 12 match. Against England, Irish captain Andy Balbirnie scored 62 runs off 47 balls and Lorcan Tucker contributed 34 runs to take the team to a respectable total of 157 while batting first.

The in-form pacer Josh Little took early wickets as England managed to score 105/5 from 14.3 overs before the interruption of the rain. Ireland were awarded a win by a narrow margin of just five runs and now will enter this fixture as favorites with unlikely changes to their starting eleven.

Let’s look at Irelands's probable playing XI against Afghanistan:

Openers: Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie (c)

Paul Stirling managed to score only 14 runs off eight balls against England but is having a good tournament so far. He smashed a crucial 66*-run knock against the West Indies in Ireland's final First Round fixture to guide the team to the Super 12 stage. The veteran opener has scored 122 runs from five innings at a strike rate of 131.18 in this tournament so far.

Andy Balbirnie played a captain's knock against England in the last match with 62 runs off 47 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes to help Ireland score a challenging 157 runs while batting first. Balbirnie has scored 117 runs from five matches in this tournament at an average of 23.40.

Middle Order: Lorcan Tucker (wk) and Harry Tector

Lorcan Tucker, wicketkeeper batter, scored a crucial 34 runs off 27 balls knock before getting run out against England in the last match. Tucker has scored 120 runs from five matches in this tournament so far with his best knocks coming against the West Indies where he smashed an unbeaten 45* off 35 balls.

Harry Tector was caught out for a duck against England in the last match and the young middle-order batter is yet to make a big impact in this tournament so far. Tector has scored 60 runs from his four innings in this Wolrd Cup and was the top run-getter for his team against Sri Lanka with 45 runs in their first Super 12 clash.

All-rounders: Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, and Gareth Delany

Curtis Campher, batting all-rounder, didn't bowl against England in the last match and scored 18 runs off just 11 balls. Campher won the Player of the Match award against Scotland in the First Round fixture for scoring unbeaten 72 runs off just 32 balls and taking two wickets while conceding only nine runs from his two-over spell.

Dockrell was bowled for a golden duck against England in the last match but has been in good form with the bat lately. He won the Player of the Series when Ireland beat Afghanistan in a five-match T20I series in August 2022 for being the highest run-getter and taking two wickets.

Gareth Delany remained unbeaten on 12 runs off 10 balls against England in the last match and has been below average in this tournament so far. He has scored only 45 runs from three innings and taken four wickets from five innings, three of which came against the West Indies.

Bowlers: Barry McCarthy, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Josh Little

Barry McCarthy, the experienced right-arm pacer, bowled an impressive spell against England in the last match. He took the valuable wicket of Dawid Malan and conceded only 20 runs from his three-over spell. Barry has struggled in this tournament with only two wickets and proved costly as well with a poor economy rate of 8.94 so far.

Mark Adair conceded only ten runs from his two-over spell against England in the last match and was not able to complete his quota due to rain. Adair was excellent when Ireland last played Afghanistan where he won the Player of the Match award for his three-fer. Adair has taken only three wickets from five innings in this tournament but is enjoying a good economy rate of 7.12.

Fionn Hand, playing in his third T20I only, replaced veteran spinner, Simi Singh, against England in the last match and bowled Ben Stokes while conceding 17 runs in his two-over spell. Josh Little continued his red-hot form with two big wickets of the English openers - Jos Buttler and Alex Hales and conceded only 16 runs. Little is leading the wickets chart for Ireland in this tournament with six wickets from five innings at an impressive economy rate of 7.68 so far.

Ireland's Predicted XI against Afghanistan:

Paul Stirling, Andy Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Barry McCarthy, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Josh Little

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