Group 1 of the Super 12 stage will see the 3rd round of matches being played on Friday. The two games are set to be played at the MCG with the threat of rain looming large. Ireland caused a huge upset by beating England by 5 runs thanks to the Duckworth and Lewis method. Afghanistan on the other hand began their Super 12 stage with a loss to England and their game against New Zealand was rained out, so winning the match is very key for the Afghans to stay alive in the tournament.
Venue – Melbourne Cricket Ground
Time – 930 AM IST
Likely pitch conditions –
With rain around, there is going to be swing on offer for the bowlers. The team winning the toss will look to bowl first under the conditions. With huge boundaries on offer the run scoring will be a fascinating affair as both the teams will look to score around 145-160 on this track. If the sun beats down the track may start to spin later on during the course of the day.
Likely Ireland XI –
P. Stirling, A. Balbirnie, L. Tucker, H. Tector, C. Campher, G. Dockrell, G. Delaney, M. Adair, B. McCarthy, F. Hand and J. Little
Likely Afghanistan XI –
R. Gurbaz, H. Zazai, I. Zadran, U. Ghani, N. Zadran, M. Nabi, A. Omarzai, R. Khan, M. Rahman, F. Ahmed and F. Farooqi
Head to Head record –
Matches played – 23
Afghanistan – 16
Ireland – 7
T20I record at MCG –
Games played -17
Matches won by home team – 9
Matches won by visiting/ neutral side – 7
No result - 1
Matches won after 1st batting – 6
Matches won after 2nd batting -10
Matches won after winning the toss – 8
Matches won after losing the toss – 8
Highest scorer at MCG – 89 – David Warner vs SA
Best bowling at MCG – 4/30 Josh Hazlewood vs England
Approaching Milestones
·Zazai needs 32 runs more to reach 1000 runs in T20I cricket
·Mujeeb Ur Rahman needs 4 more wickets to reach 50 mark in T20I cricket
·Balbirnie needs 6 more sixes to notch up 50 sixes in T20I cricket
·This is Harry Tector’s 50th T20I match for Ireland