AFG vs IRL 1st ODI match prediction 21 Jan 2021

Afghanistan vs Ireland 1st ODI | Top Match Bets

Afghanistan and Ireland will begin their 1st ODI of a three-match series at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE on Thursday, January 21.

Afghanistan and Ireland will be locking horns for the first time this season to begin the three-match series ODI in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Super League, which commenced in 2020 and will conclude in 2023. Earlier this month on Ireland's tour of UAE, which was scheduled to be a four-match series ODI, United Arab Emirates won the 1st ODI by 6 wickets with captain Chundangapoyil Rizwan was declared as the Man of The Match, followed by the second and third match being cancelled. The 4th ODI was taken over by Ireland as they won by 112 runs. As the teams get together, I have collated three best bets from this match to bet on. Take a look!

Player Matches- Paul Stirling To Score More Than Andy Balbirnie

The first bet is a player bet which certainly is a winner. Paul Stirling, the Irish star, is considered to be one of the best batsmen playing for Ireland. Considering his immense experience in the English domestic set-up, having been part of Middlesex for several years Striling is known for his attacking starts in all formats. Against UAE, Paul Stirling scored a 131 in the first ODI followed by the Ireland captain, Andy Balbirnie scoring a 53 runs. Stirling has played 119 ODI innings in his career and racked 4412 runs at an average of 38.03 which includes 472 boundaries and 99 sixes. While Andy Balbirne, the talented middle-order batsman from Ireland has played 69 innings hammering 2097 runs at an average of 32.26 which includes 198 boundaries and 27 sixes. Stirling has played 26 innings against Afghanistan and scored 1082 runs from it at an astounding average of 43.28. Balbirnie, on the other hand, has played 19 innings so far against Afghanistan and scored 594 runs only at an average of 37.12. Stirling has featured in 15 matches played in UAE and averages 43.38 from it while Birling averages 36.75 from the same number of matches played at the mentioned venue. Having played 36 away matches for his team, Stirling averages at an average of 38.94 while Balbirnie has only played 19 away matches and averages 29.33 from it. Considering Stirling's experience and expertise it is more likely that Paul Stirling will be scoring more than the captain, Andy Balbirnie in the coming match to which Bet365 has offered odds of 1.80.

Afghanistan To Win The Match

Considering the earlier matches played between the two teams, Afghanistan is in favour of winning this bet. Let me back my claim on the same with proper data. In the last five matches played over the years Afghanistan has managed to outbeat Ireland two times with two matches being declared draws and one match being given to Ireland. In the last ODI held at Belfast where the teams faced each other, Afghanistan won the series by 126 runs.Also in the first ODI series Ireland had managed a win over Afghanistan but they bounced back in the second ODI.Afghanistan has also managed to hit the highest total in the last two ODI played against Ireland with 305 and 338 runs held at Greater Noida and Belfast simultaneously from one innings each. Ireland last faced UAE earlier this month, where they were beaten by 112 runs. In the last four matches at the teams played, Afghanistan beat Ireland in the two T20I series along with one tour match held at UAE.Though in the 27 head-to-head encounters the two teams have faced each other they have taken the trophy home on equal numbers, but considering the current scenario Afghanistan has a better chance of winning this bet.

Afghanistan To Hit The Most Match 6's

Earlier this season when the teams faced each other for the first T20I series, Afghanistan won 2 matches out of three, with one being declared as a draw. The Afghani players like Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran who individually added 2,1,2 sixes to the first series. The second series Rahmanullah Gurbaz added another 3 followed by 3 other sixes hit by the fellow players, while the Irishmen has only contributed 3 sixes to the match. Simultaneously in the 3rd T20I Afghanistan were leading by 6 sixes whereas Ireland were stuck at 3. The icing on the cake was during the tour match when the teams played against each other, Afghanistan hit a big round of 10 sixes and left Ireland with a mere 7. Considering the same Afghanistan also has an upper hand in playing against their opponents at their home ground. With big hitters like Najbullah Zadran, Asghar Afghan and Rashid Khan Individually contributing to 24, 20, 16 sixes this bet is a winner bet. Sportsbet.io has offered odds of 1.88 for Afghanistan to hit most sixes in the coming match.