IRE vs AFG 2nd ODI Playing 11: Paul Stirling-led Ireland will square off against Rahmat Shah-led Afghanistan in the 2nd ODI match on August 07 at Bready Cricket Club, Northern Ireland.

The first match of the ODI series has been abandoned due to persistent rain, and both sides will be aiming for a win to secure the lead in the series.

With the persistent rain before the start of the match, the match has been reduced to 47 overs each game.

Both cricketing sides have faced each other on 32 occasions, where Ireland have 13 wins while Afghanistan have 18 wins, with one game being abandoned.

Ireland won the toss and opted to bat first. Speaking at the toss, Ireland captain Paul Stirling said, “We’re going to bowl first. Look, it’s been on the covers for quite a while now. I’m not entirely sure which way it’s going to go. I’m sure it’s going to offer a little bit of assistance to the opening bowlers, hopefully, and get out there, find the right lengths, the right lines, and make some early inroads is the plan.”

“Yeah, it does feel like a little bit of a fresh start, but also we’re at the real busy end. So, yeah, a bit of mixed emotions, but everyone’s so excited. We’ve got three debutants coming in today, so we’re really excited to have some fresh faces and some older heads as well. So there’s a nice balance there. But again, it’s the first match, I think, in maybe 18 months. So we’re looking to start well and go from there,” he added.

While speaking about the Today Ireland cricket team playing 11, he said, “Yeah, look, we’ve gone with the extra batter. We’ve got three debutants today. We’re super excited to get out there. We’ve got one spinner in the side in Gavin Hoey, and Harry will bowl a little bit of offspin with four seamers, basically.”

Meanwhile, Afghanistan captain Rahmat Shah said, “Yeah, I’m happy with that. I think we are not thinking about a specific number. We just build the partnerships as much as possible.  I just give the positive thing to the players. They play their natural game, and we want to try our best.”

Speaking on today Afghanistan cricket team playing 11, Rahmat Shah said, “We have three spinners and three fast bowlers.”

IRE vs AFG 2nd ODI Playing 11

Ireland Playing 11: Paul Stirling(c), Andrew Balbirnie, Cade Carmichael, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker(w), Benjamin Calitz, Mark Adair, Gavin Hoey, Jai Moondra, Byron McDonough

Afghanistan Playing 11: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sediqullah Atal, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rahmat Shah(c), Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Fazalhaq Farooqi