Who will win Afghanistan vs Ireland 2nd T20?
Afghanistan defeated Ireland in the first T20 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series which means the latter will now have to ensure a win in the next game to keep the series alive. The second T20 international will be played on March 10 at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, Greater Noida. Live action is scheduled to begin at 2 PM local time.
Toss Prediction
The opening game has revealed that the pitch at Greater Noida is a good one to bat on as both the teams scored in excess of 160. So the team that wins the toss here on Friday will want to bat first and have something around 170-180 on the scoreboard. Ireland won their fourth consecutive toss against Afghanistan the other day and we predict the coin to land in their favor once again.
Read on for team previews, latest odds, betting tips and match prediction for Afg vs Ire 2nd T20...
Afghanistan Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Afghanistan do not have any injury issues to deal with as all their players are fit and ready for this upcoming match. The selectors are unlikely to make any changes to the team after the resounding win in the first game.
Key Players
Mohammad Shahzad and Samiullah Shenwari who scored 47 and 56 runs respectively were the main highlights of Afghanistan innings in the first game. Shahzad is the team's highest run-getter in T20s and he now has two good knocks in his last two games. Spinners Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan have been doing a good job with the ball for Afghanistan and they are the first players from their team to be picked for the IPL. Nabi was quite expensive on Wednesday but he is expected to bounce back with a strong performance on Friday.
Recent Form
Afghanistan are making rapid strides in the T20 format. They have extended their winning streak from eight to nine, beating Ireland in the series opener on Wednesday. Two of these wins have been secured in India while the rest have all come in the UAE. They have been very impressive with the bat in their last three games.
Afghanistan Predicted Playing 11
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Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Najeeb Tarakai, Samiullah Shenwari, Asghar Stanikzai (c), Mohammad Nabi, Shafiqullah, Rashid Khan, Amir Hamza, Najibullah Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Karim Janat.
Ireland Team News & Playing 11
Team News
The team is in good physical condition as there are no records of injury to any of their players. Despite finishing on the losing side in the first T20, Ireland are likely to go in with the same group of eleven for this second match.
Key Players
Opening batsman Stuart Thompson scored a flashy 56 in the first T20 which included six fours and a couple of sixes. He was well supported by skipper William Porterfield from the other end who made 39. Both these batsmen will hold the key for Ireland with the bat. George Dockrell and Jacob Mulder bowled reasonably well on what was a good batting surface and it will be up to these two spinners to hold off the Afghan batters. Dockrell is Ireland's leading T20 wicket-taker and he will be the team's best man with the ball.
Recent Form
Ireland have now lost five of their last seven games and are clearly struggling to find a win in the 20-overs format. Their last two defeats have both come against Afghanistan and while they were loose with the ball in the last game, they suffered a batting collapse in the game before.
Ireland Predicted Playing 11
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SR Thompson, PR Stirling, WTS Porterfield (c), KJ O'Brien, GC Wilson (c), L Tucker, GJ Thompson, AR McBrine, GH Dockrell, CA Young, J Mulder.
Team Form in Last Five Matches (most recent first)
Afghanistan: W W W W W
Ireland: L L W W L
Afghanistan vs Ireland Head to Head
Afghanistan have now beaten Ireland in their previous three attempts and they have an overall win percentage of 62.50 against them with five wins from eight T20 matches. Afghanistan were last defeated by Ireland in 2013 in the finals of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier at Abu Dhabi.
Afghanistan vs Ireland 2nd T20 Betting Odds
Afghanistan have outclassed Ireland the last three times the two teams have played a T20 international against each other and they have won all those games quite convincingly. The hosts won the opening game of the series and they are favorites to win the second T20 as well at 1.50 with bet365 and 1.40 with betway. Ireland's performance graph in the shortest format has gone downhill in recent times and so they remain outsiders for this match with both bet365 and betway who have them up at 2.62 and 2.87 respectively.
Afghanistan vs Ireland 2nd T20 Prediction
Afghanistan won the first game with ease and are leading the series 1-0. And with two more games to play, it has become a must-win situation for Ireland. Surely, the pressure will be on the Irish team as one more loss would mean a third consecutive T20 series defeat for them. They will be disappointed that they ended up losing on Wednesday after posting a competitive total and they only have their bowlers to blame for this loss.
Afghanistan on the other hand are enjoying their purple patch and are looking unstoppable with the way are going about their business. They won the opening game just as was predicted by us and we predict them to win this 2nd T20 as well and seal the series on Friday itself.
Final Verdict: Back Afghanistan to beat Ireland in the second T20 at 1.50 with bet365 and 1.40 with betway.
Mar 10, 2017
14:00 IST / 8:30 GMT
Greater Noida Sports Complex - Noida, India
Afg vs Ire 2nd T20 
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