Spotlight: Lorcan Tucker, Preview, Key Players, Fantasy Tips and Dream11
The hosts secured a thumping win in the first game
Hosts Ireland will clash with Afghanistan in the second T20I of the five-match series in Belfast tomorrow at 8.00 PM IST.
Although the visitors set a target of 169 in the first match, the Irishmen chased it down with one ball to spare, courtesy of fantastic half-centuries from Andy Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker.
Afghanistan's spin trio, their biggest strength, struggled in the match, picking just two wickets at a disappointing economy rate of 7.4. Their middle order also failed to fire, which led them to a sub-par total despite a good start.
While Ireland would like to sustain their winning momentum, Afghanistan would want to improve their grey areas and get back on the winning track.
Spotlight: Lorcan Tucker
Although he got an underwhelming start to his T20I career, Lorcan Tucker has gradually established himself as one of Ireland's first-choice T20I batters through a string of impressive performances recently.
Tucker played a stunning knock in the 1st match
Tucker, who played a blistering 38-ball-78-run knock against South Africa last week, smashed a flamboyant fifty in the first game of the ongoing series yesterday. Considering his red hot form and incredible range, we expect him to put up another impressive performance with the willow in tomorrow's encounter.
Key Players
- Andrew Balbirnie, the Irish captain, was awarded the player of the match for his match-winning 51-run knock yesterday.
- Usman Ghani emerged as Afghanistan's best batter in the first match, slamming 59 runs off 42 balls.
- Barry McCarthy shone with the ball for Ireland in the first game, picking three wickets for 34 runs.
- Rashid Khan, although failed to pick a wicket in the last match, can't be underestimated considering his colossal stature and incredible record against Ireland.
Match Details
Venue: Civil Service Cricket Club, Belfast
Live Streaming: FanCode App
Pitch Report: The venue witnessed an average score of 169.5 in the first match, indicating the track's conduciveness for batting. Also, the wicket didn't slow down and played really well in the second half. So, we anticipate a good deck, which will favour the batters throughout the game. Therefore, we advise the toss-winner to field first in tomorrow's encounter.
CREX 11 Fantasy Tips
Wicket-keepers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lorcan Tucker
Batters: Paul Stirling, Najibullah Zadran, Andrew Balbirnie, Usman Ghani
All-rounder: Mohammad Nabi, George Dockrell
Bowlers: Rashid Khan, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little
Captain: Lorcan Tucker
Vice Captain: Usman Ghani
Also Read: Beth Mooney: Appreciating impenetrable bedrock of Australian batting