In the summer of 2018, Ireland and Afghanistan made their Test debuts in two matches that were equally historic, but contrastingly competitive. While Afghanistan folded inside two days, Ireland stretched their opposition and even had their first centurion before falling short.

Without a Test win under their belt, both teams are in with a chance to write history in their second Test, starting Friday, March 15. The pressure is greater on Ireland, though: far from the familiar climes of Dublin, their first away Test will offer a whole new set of challenges.

First, they are playing away from home. Second, they are playing in the subcontinent, preparing for a trial on a likely spin-friendly deck in Dehradun, on a ground that has already seen eight limited-overs matches, against a team that features world-class spinners.

The ‘best’ may be up for debate, but Afghanistan are definitely up there. In the latest rankings, Rashid is the No.1 all-rounder in ODIs, Mohammad Nabi is third on the list. In the bowlers’ chart, Rashid is No.2, Mujeeb Ur Rahman No.9 and Nabi No.15. In the T20I format, Rashid is sitting at the top of the bowlers’ list, and Nabi is the No.3 all-rounder.

Afghanistan’s top players are ruling the charts and dominating the white-ball formats. But just one-Test young, their spinners are yet to prove themselves in Test cricket. The ‘green wicket’ defence does not take away the fact that their spin trio bagged only four wickets for 294 runs, while India spinners cashed in 11 in less than three sessions.

“[Rashid] has been the main difference between the two sides in the recent past. Whenever he performs well for them, or we don’t play him particularly well, I think that really is a big advantage for Afghanistan. He’ll definitely be one of the bowlers we’ll be trying to negate, but they’ve got more than just Rashid Khan, they’re a really good outfit.”

Ireland can also take confidence in the knowledge that their own spin attack played a crucial role in levelling the ODI series. And with the Test being the final stage of a long tour, both batsmen and bowlers have had time to get used to conditions. If they can tap into that legendary ability to punch above their weight and repeat the spirited fight they displayed against Pakistan in their debut Test, they might well find the response they need to triumph over their spin demons.