Ireland vs Afghanistan – 3rd T20 International Preview & Prediction

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THE FACTS

When is Ireland vs Afghanistan taking place? Friday, August 12th, 2022 – 15:30 (UK)

Where is Ireland vs Afghanistan taking place? Civil Service Cricket Club, Belfast

What is the expected weather for Ireland vs Afghanistan? 23c, dry with sunny intervals throughout and a gentle breeze

What channel is Ireland vs Afghanistan on? This game will be televised in the UK live on BT Sport.

Where can I stream Ireland vs Afghanistan? BT Sport subscribers will be able to stream the match live via the BT Sport website and app

LAST MEETING
Ireland beat Afghanistan by five wickets.

THE LOWDOWN

IRELAND

• Ireland have put themselves within one victory of sealing this five match T20i series after recording a second consecutive triumph over Afghanistan courtesy of a successful run chase, this time by five wickets.
• The bowlers hugely impressed, restricting the tourists to just 122/8, which the batters knocked off with an over to spare, captain Andrew Balbirnie leading the charge with 46 from 36 balls.

AFGHANISTAN

• Afghanistan’s batters ultimately left their bowlers with too much to do last time out, with only Hashmatullah Shahidi playing any sort of meaningful knock, scoring 36 whilst the second highest individual score was a disappointing 17 from Ibrahim Zadran.
• Whilst the first T20i saw the Afghanistan bowlers struggle, it was the turn of the batters to misfire in the second T20i and until the visitors put in a consistent performance across the entire side, they will continue to struggle.

THE PREDICTION

Like London buses, you wait ages then all of a sudden, two come along at once. This also seems to be the case when it comes to Irish victories this summer, following back-to-back wins over Afghanistan after previously being beaten by the likes of India, New Zealand and South Africa. Balbirnie’s men are finally starting to fire on all cylinders and their bowling performance in particular this past Thursday, was excellent. As you would expect, the hosts are finding the conditions and pitch in Belfast easy to deal with than their opponents with Afghanistan yet to really click in this series. When taking into account the superior all-round performances of Ireland across the past week, consider backing them to extend their series lead to an unassailable 3-0 margin in this one.