Buoyed by its success in the limited-overs series, Afghanistan will be eyeing victory in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against Ireland at the Greater Noida Sports Complex that started on Tuesday, the ICC reported.
The four-day fixture is crucial for both teams as they inch closer to their dream of playing Test cricket.
According to the ICC, this contest will all but decide which side wins the Intercontinental Cup 2015-17 to play the bottom-ranked Test team in the ICC Test Challenge in 2018.
If it wins the challenge, it can acquire Test status.
Host Afghanistan, with 61 points from four matches, will be high on confidence after a 3-0 win in the Twenty20 International series and a recent 3-2 in the One-Day Internationals against the same opponent, but Ireland, who leads the Intercontinental Cup table with 80 points, will not be a pushover.
Afghanistan’s recent surge in limited-overs cricket is well documented, but it has improved remarkably in the longer format as well, beating both Namibia and Netherlands in Intercontinental Cup matches last year, reported the ICC.
Zahir Khan, the left-arm spinner, is the joint-highest wicket-taker with 19 scalps, while Rashid Khan, the legspinner, who was the leading wicket-taker in the T20Is (9) and ODIs (16) and the experience of Mohammad Nabi will also be important. Afghanistan’s pace department wears a settled look with the experienced Dawlat Zadran leading the attack.
Mohammad Shehzad (308 runs in four matches) leads the batting chart for Afghanistan, and will be key to the side’s batting fortunes along with Asghar Stanikzai, the captain, Nabi and the in-form Rahman Shah, the top-order batsman.
“We will have the advantage of venue as we know the pitch and conditions,” said Stanikzai, confident of carrying the momentum from limited-overs success.
“These are Asian conditions and spinners will play a key role in this match. Our advantage is that we played one four-day match here against Namibia and won.
“Ireland is a strong competitor and I feel this will be the best and most important game in the entire Intercontinental Cup league as both teams can top the league,” he said.
“It will be a big test for us – the conditions, the turning surface – against a side that has a lot of spinners,” said William Porterfield, the Ireland captain.
“We’ve been here for three or four weeks, played a lot of cricket on the same ground, so we could not have asked for better preparation.
“We have seen a lot of Afghanistan in one-day and T20 cricket recently. These conditions suit them and we will have to fall back on (spinners) George Dockrell and Jacob Mulder and hope the batsmen put the runs on the board. I feel not too many runs will decide the game. If we pull it off against Afghanistan, we will be in a great position in the I-Cup,” he said.
Squads:
Afghanistan: Asghar Stanikzai (captain), Afsar Khan, Mohammad Ahmadzai, Dawlat Zadran, Hashmatullah Shaidi, Mohammad Javedi, Mohammad Nabi, Nasir Jamal, Noor Ali, Rahmat Shahi, Rashid Khan, Shabir Noori, Mohammad Shahzad, Zahir Khan.
Ireland: William Porterfield (captain), John Anderson, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Tim Murtagh, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Jacob Mulder, Andrew Balbirnie, Niall O’Brien, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.