Afghanistan beat Ireland by 16 runs in the first T20 on Monday, August 20, 2018, at the Bready Cricket Club in Bready, Northern Ireland.
Even though Ireland is hosting the series, Afghanistan looks like a better team on paper. As per the head-to-head record in T20Is Afghanistan has won seven games, while Ireland has only won three games.
Final scorecard
Ireland 144/9 (18 ov, target 161) Rashid Khan [35/3]
Afghanistan 160/7
Afghanistan beat @Irelandcricket by 16 runs in the first T20I of the series and take a 1-0 lead.#AFGvIRE #1stT20I pic.twitter.com/G9oK5yMRyu
— Afghan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 20, 2018
The umpires will inspect the pitch again at 4:30 PM local and decide on the next course of action.
Rain has delayed the toss. Stay tuned.
TV telecast and live streaming info:
The first T20I between Afghanistan and Ireland will start today at 7:30 PM (AFT). The match will be televised live by OSN(Middle East), Fox Sports (Australia), Sky NZ, Supersport (South Africa)and Sony Network (India and Subcontinent)#AFGvIRE #1stT20I pic.twitter.com/L0FXZoDaA0
— Afghan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 20, 2018
- India & Subcontinent: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, SonyLiv, Cricketgateway
- UK: BBC, Cricketgateway
- Australia: Fox Sports
- South Africa: SuperSport
- Ireland: BBC Sport NI, live stream on Cricketgateway.com
- New Zealand: SKY Sport NZ
The match is scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM GMT, 7:30 PM AFT.
JOIN US: Ireland men’s next international challenge is Afghanistan - a six-match series this month. Tickets are now on sale: https://t.co/XMLgIpWpDu #BackingGreen pic.twitter.com/8OQs7p09fA
— Cricket Ireland (@Irelandcricket) August 10, 2018
New faces in the Irish side
Cricbuzz reported that the Irish side has added two new faces to their bowling lineup, 20-year-old David Delany, who is yet to make his debut in international cricket and 18-year-old Joshua Little who has previously played for the national side two years ago.
The duo will join the far more experienced bowlers like Boyd Rankin, Stuart Thompson and Peter Chase, who did quite well in the series against India. Ireland hasn't been in the best form in the T20 format after they lost the series to India 2-0 in June.
The players are starting to arrive at the ground and @Youngy_44 joins us to have a practice net.
— Cricket Ireland (@Irelandcricket) August 20, 2018
Don't forget, you'll be able to watch the action online at: https://t.co/gdRDLsDRdr@ESPNcricinfo will be live-scoring the game at: https://t.co/Y2YDNte3cL#BackingGreen pic.twitter.com/gmRl8h6GNj
Afghans to bank on experience
Afghanistan has a set unit.
Their recent performances include a 3-0 T20I series win over Bangladesh in June. Even though the conditions might not favor them much, it should be noted that players such as Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi have been playing in the county cricket lately, which would've given them some idea of the condition in the United Kingdom.
MATCH UPDATE: The umpires have advised the toss will be at 4.30pm, with play to start at 5pm (as long as no more rain). The match will be slightly reduced to an 18-over a side game. #BackingGreen pic.twitter.com/GpgHdZucHt
— Cricket Ireland (@Irelandcricket) August 20, 2018
The Afghani side is filled with all-rounders which gives some great balance to their side. According to Cricbuzz, the Bready Cricket Club has hosted only one completed T20I, that too back in 2015, hence there is little that can be predicted about the surface.
But lately we have seen some good batting pitches been prepared in Ireland and we can expect that to continue in Bready. The weather forecast isn't the brightest, as there is a chance of rain in the evening.
Read: Ind vs Eng 3rd Test day 2 live streaming on Sony Six and Sky Sports Cricket
Also read: Sri Lanka vs South Africa 1st T20 live cricket streaming on Youtube at 7 PM IST
