The big picture: Can Afghanistan make it 4-0?
This was the first ODI series in Ireland in over 15 months. They failed to shake off the rust and found themselves 3-0 down heading into the final match of the series against a thriving Afghanistan side. Playing under a new coach, and preparing for the 2027 ODI World Cup – they will likely have to play the qualifiers to get into the competition – it’s not the ideal start to their tournament, but they will at least want to get a consolation win to take some confidence from the series.
Although they lost in the previous match, they will be happy that the batting unit produced a much improved performance after being bowled out by scores of 206 and 207 in the two matches before that. Two experienced campaigners, Andy Balbirnie and Curtis Campher, stood in their pursuit of 344 and helped them past 300, and they will want to build on that display.
The likes of Paul Stirling and Harry Tector will also want to raise their hands and make significant contributions after struggling throughout the series, while Balbirnie will want to continue his form after an impressive century in the last match.
Afghanistan, meanwhile, will be pleased with strong all-round performances throughout the round and will want to wrap up the series with a resounding 4-0 win.
Modern model
Ireland LLLLW (last five ODIs completed, most recent first)
Afghanistan WWWLL
Team news
Ireland are likely to field the same formation as they did in the last match.
Ireland (Possible): 1 Paul Sterling (capt), 2 Andrew Balbirnie, 3 Cade Carmichael, 4 Harry Tector, 5 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 6 Curtis Campher, 7 Ben Calitz, 8 Mark Adair, 9 Gavin Hoey, 10 Liam McCarthy, 11 Byron McDonough.
Afghanistan brought on Ziaur Rahman in place of Fazlul Haq Faruqi in the last match, but could reverse the move after Ziaur conceded 0 for 71 in nine overs.
Afghanistan (Possible): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Siddiqullah Atal, 4 Rahma Shah (captain), 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 6 Darvesh Rasouli, 7 Azmatullah Omarzai, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Yamin Ahmadzai, 10 AM Ghazanfar, 11 Fazlul Haq Farooqi.
In the spotlight: Cady Carmichael and A.M. Ghazanfar
Pitch and conditions
The average first innings win score over the last five ODIs in Belfast was 272. And if the last match was anything to go by, it could end up being another high-scoring affair. While it is expected to be a bit cloudy in Belfast, the rain should stay away and we should be playing.
Stats and trivia
- Rashid needs three more wickets to become the first ODI player to take 15 or more wickets in a bilateral series against any opponent twice. He took 16 wickets at 13.37 in the five-match ODI series against Ireland in 2016–17.
- If Rashid takes three wickets, he will also become the first ODI player to take 15 or more wickets in three bilateral series. Currently, he is tied with Amit Mishra on two overs.
- If George Dockrell plays, he will need just four wickets to overtake Kevin O’Brien as Ireland’s leading wicket-taker in this format.
Abhimanyu Bose is a sub-editor at Cricinfo
