Toss Afghanistan chose to bat v Ireland
Afghanistan have elected to bat in the second T20I against Ireland, with both making one change from the last match. Shafiqullah replaced Usman Ghani for Afghanistan, and the experienced Boyd Rankin, having recovered from a back niggle, came in for Tyrone Kane.
The visitors lead the three-match T20I series 1-0 after outplaying Ireland in a rain-truncated first match. Twenty-year-old Hazratullah Zazai, playing only his second international and his first in two years, had set the win up with a blazing 33-ball 74, before the spinners – Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi – came into their own.
While Ireland captain Gary Wilson – also their top-scorer in the first match – felt that they did well to peg things back after Zazai’s early onslaught in that game, their challenge will remain tackling the Afghanistan spinners in this one to keep the series alive.
Ireland 1 Paul Stirling, 2 Stuart Thompson, 3 William Porterfield, 4 Kevin O’Brien, 5 Gary Wilson (capt & wk), 6 Andy Balbirnie, 7 Simi Singh, 8 George Dockrell, 9 Joshua Little, 10 Boyd Rankin, 11 Peter Chase
Afghanistan 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Hazratullah Zazai, 3 Asghar Afghan (capt), 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Samiullah Shenwari, 7 Shafiqullah, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Aftab Alam, 10 Fareed Ahmad, 11 Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Source: ESPN Crickinfo