The well-known victory over England at the same venue, which was arguably Ireland's greatest T20I victory ever in men's competition, gives Andrew Balbirnie's team a chance to surprise in Group 1. But if the Irish fail to score another victory against a dangerous Afghanistan team in the Super 12 Group 1 match of the T20 World Cup 2022, that chance will be gone.
In the summer, Ireland prevailed in a five-match T20I series against Friday's opponents, winning the deciding match on DLS Method in Belfast. However, Ireland's three victories in that series were their first against Afghanistan since 2013. Before a dramatic tie in March 2020, Ireland had lost 12 games in a row.
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| Group 1 | ||||||
| New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +4.450 |
| England | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | +0.239 |
| Ireland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -1.169 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -1.555 |
| Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +0.450 |
| Afghanistan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -0.620 |
Regarding spin, the Afghan spin trio is most likely to trouble Ireland in Melbourne. Despite the defeat, it was notable that England's spinners were successful, with Liam Livingstone taking three wickets and Adil Rashid bowling skillfully while the Irish were unable to handle the turning ball. Additionally, given that Afghanistan's spinners rank among the world's most terrifying units, additional battles may be imminent.
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