Ireland look for improved batting show in must-win game

Overview

Ireland v Afghanistan
Civil Service Cricket Club, Belfast
2nd ODI
Wednesday, August 29, 10.30 local, 9.45 GMT

After winning the opening fixture of the three-match series, a confident Afghanistan will look to seal the three-match ODI series to add to their spoils from the Twenty20 International series, which they won 2-0.

The 29-run win was a convincing performance by Asghar Afghan and his men as they outplayed Ireland in all three departments, most hearteningly in the fielding.

With the bat, Afghanistan's only concern – a minor one for now – is the no-show by their openers in the first game. Hazratullah Zazai, the star of the T20I series, and Ihsanullah failed to provide their team with a foundation, scoring 14 and 9 respectively. However, the good sign is that the middle-order showed resilience, especially Gulbadin Naib and Hashmatullah Shahidi, even though at no stage did they break away and threaten to swing the game in Afghanistan's favour.

Both the batsmen scored crucial half-centuries and Afghanistan will want them to sparkle again in order to put up a competitive batting performance. Their total of 227/9 proved to be enough on Monday – they'd want significantly more to ease the pressure on their bowling attack.

That said, it's their spin attack that makes Afghanistan the team they are, and the onus will again be on Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi. They won Afghanistan the first game by bowling Ireland out for 198 and will provide 30 overs that will, perhaps, decide the course of the game again.

Having been completely outplayed in the series, across formats, so far, Ireland have a lot to do.

Their batting looked out of depth despite the experience of William Porterfield, Paul Stirling, the O'Brien brothers Niall and Kevin, and others. All their top eight batsmen got off to decent starts but only Andrew Balbirnie, who top-scored with an 82-ball 55, and Gary Wilson were able to build on their early gains.

On the bowling front, Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin, the veteran pacemen, delivered for the team, sharing seven wickets between them. Another such bowling performance, coupled with a stronger show with the bat, could help Ireland change the tide.

Key players

**Tim Murtagh (Ireland):**Murtagh will be a vital cog in Ireland's bowling line-up. The paceman finished with figures of 4/31 from his 10 overs in the first game, and Afghanistan will have to find a way to tackle him.

Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan): The experienced Naib was brilliant with the bat for Afghanistan, top-scoring with a 98-ball 64. He also chipped in with a wicket, returning 1/42 from his 10 overs. His ability to deliver with both bat and ball is a key part of Afghanistan's game plan.

Conditions

It is going to be 17°C with a bit of cloud cover in Belfast but nothing too severe. The match should progress without much weather-related drama, and if things go well, the bowlers – pacers and spinners – will back themselves to call the shots on what was a difficult pitch to score on in the first game.

Squads

Ireland: William Porterfield (c), Andy Balbirnie, Peter Chase, David Delany, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson

Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad, Javed Ahmadi, Asghar Afghan (c), Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shenwari, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aftab Alam, Ihsanullah Janat, Sayed Shirzad, Dawlat Zadran, Wafadar