If you watched the T20 series between Afghanistan and Ireland at Dehradun, you’d be licking your lips as a batsman looking at the high scores achieved there. However, the 1st ODI turned out to be a completely low-scoring affair. Was it because the pitch played up? Or was it because both these nations failed to switch to the 50-over format after 3 games of ‘Crash Bang Boom’? Probably the latter.
Regardless, the two get set to face off in the 2nd ODI of this 5-match series in India, at the same venue. The previous game was the first-ever ODI at this ground but all-in-all, it has seen 7 international games, all won by Afghanistan, so we know who will have the edge when we go into the 2nd ODI. Form and talent are both backing another Afghani victory here. Keep reading for our complete fantasy preview.
Match info
- Tournament: Afghanistan and Ireland in India, 2019
- Date: 2nd March 2019, 1:00pm IST
- Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
- Series status: Afghanistan lead the series 1-0.
Form (recent first)
- Afghanistan: W T L L W W
- Ireland: L L W L L W
Stats
- Rashid Khan has 20 wickets in 7 international matches here.
- Afghanistan have won 7 of 7 matches here. Ireland are yet to win one.
- Hazratullah Zazai is the highest run-scorer at this ground – 229 runs.
- Head to head in ODIs – Afghanistan 11-10 Ireland.
Afghanistan
The meteoric rise of Afghanistan in international cricket was been fantastic and these recent performances show you why. Even though they had a few hiccups on the way to chasing down 162 in the 1st ODI, they got there eventually. From the fantasy cricket perspective, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan become must-picks because they are the only two with experience of playing in India in the IPL. You could gamble and drop them for less popular players, but slim chances of this paying off..
With the ball, they were boosted by the return of Shapoor and Dawlat Zadran, and the latter proved his worth immediately, with 3/35. However, Gulbadin Naib was played as a full-time bowling option which kept Shapoor out of the team. Now here’s one gamble you can go for. Pick Naib in place of Nabi, considering he bats higher and bowls earlier too. His MOM performance in the 1st ODI is also a chance to promote him as your captain.
Ireland
Paul Stirling played a painstaking 89(150) in the 1st ODI but if not for his contribution, Ireland would’ve not even had half the score they got to. With his rise in popularity in fantasy leagues after this knock, I’d stay away and continue to pick captain William Porterfield who managed only 1 in the last game, but he will surely bounce back.
One the all-rounder front, we have another dilemma in choosing between Simi Singh and Kevin O’Brien. Now we know on his day, KOB is a match winner, but Singh bowled fantastic figures of 1/19 in 10 overs and is handy with the bat as well. We either pick them both, or we pick Singh ahead of KOB, but 3 all-rounders is a certainty for this game. For the bowlers, pick one between Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin, as you’d want a spinning option in George Dockrell, who provides good value as he has begun batting higher up the order as well.
AFG vs IRE Punting
Place bets at BEST ODDS in the 2nd ODI
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— Read Scoops (@ReadScoops) February 28, 2019
My fantasy eleven
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