Afghanistan hold a superior record over Ireland in T20Is, having won 12 out of the 15 games played between them. They haven’t lost a single game against Ireland since 2013, and have also swept them in all three bilateral series they’ve contested in.

Watch: Afghanistan v Ireland, live stream

The first game will be a unique milestone for Ireland, who will be playing their 1000th match in all formats of men’s cricket since 1885. The side, captained by Andy Balbirnie, has ample experience in Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin. They have included uncapped wicketkeeper Stephen Doheny, who replaced the ailing Gary Wilson. Coach Graham Ford won’t be travelling with the team either, after suffering a freak injury last week.

NOT 💯 BUT 1,000‼️

Ireland Men's team plays Afghanistan in a T20I on Friday – this will be the 1,000th match an Irish men's team has played since 1855 across all formats.

We're going to share players' memories soon, but what are your favourite memories of Ireland Men's matches? pic.twitter.com/FHvRWRC1lA

— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) March 3, 2020

 

Afghanistan have an experienced side as well – a lot of responsibility will be on Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, two of their most established T20 players.

Star players

Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan): In Zazai, Afghanistan have an explosive opening batsman who could set the tone for the innings. Last year, he scored an unbeaten 162, the second-highest T20I score ever, against Ireland. In all, he averages 90.00 against them, with a strike-rate of 209.30.

Paul Stirling (Ireland): Stirling, recently named Ireland’s men’s international cricketer of the year, has been in stellar touch since the start of 2019. He has scored nine T20I fifties since, most recently a 47-ball 95 against West Indies in January, his best T20I score.

Afghanistan v Ireland T20Is fixtures & start times

Friday, 6 March 2020 [start 2pm local time; 8.30am GMT]
Sunday, 8 March 2020 [start 2pm local time; 8.30am GMT]
Tuesday, 10 March 2020 [start 2pm local time; 8.30am GMT]

[caption id=”attachment_107252″ align=”alignnone” width=”1024″] Hazratullah Zazai scored 162* against Ireland last year, the second-highest T20I score ever[/caption]

Squads

Afghanistan: Asghar Afghan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Karim Janat, Najib Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Naveen ul Haq, Shapoor Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Qais Ahmad, Azmatullah Omarzai, Samiullah Shinwari, Usman Ghani.

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Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Shane Getkate, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.

Afghanistan v Ireland, first T20I scorecard