Ireland vs Afghanistan – 4th T20 International Preview & Prediction

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THE FACTS

When is Ireland vs Afghanistan taking place? Monday, August 15th, 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? 17-19c, with light rain showers likely across the scheduled hours of play

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
Afghanistan beat Ireland by 22 runs.

THE LOWDOWN

IRELAND

• A nightmare powerplay for Ireland chasing 190 to win saw them reduced to 36/4, which they never recovered from and wickets continued to fall throughout their chase as they tried to up the run-rate, eventually finishing on 167/9, 22 runs behind their opponents.
• Openers Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie alongside the in-form Harry Tector were all dismissed for single figures and will be hoping for better this time round, although George Dockrell provided some entertaining lower order fireworks, scoring 58 not out from 37 balls

AFGHANISTAN

• Afghanistan’s top order really hit their straps last time out as their top four contributed a total of 170 runs after being asked to bat first, helping the tourists rack up 189/5 which they subsequently defended well.
• Rashid Khan went wicketless with the ball despite his side picking up nine scalps, meaning that Afghanistan’s star spin-bowler is still yet to take a wicket across this series so far, the first time in his career this is happened in three consecutive games.

THE PREDICTION

Now that the Afghanistan team look to have gotten to grips with conditions out in Belfast, they are starting to look more like the formidable T20i opponents that the cricketing world know them to be. However, it’s important to note that Ireland’s top order are unlikely to misfire as dramatically as they did inside the powerplay for a second match running. Expect the hosts to come back strongly in this one. In terms of the overall result though, the smart play would be not to make any moves as it stands due to the current weather forecast, which is predicting a heavy rain disruption to proceedings.