New Delhi:
After making their entry into the Test club with matches against India and Pakistan, Afghanistan and Ireland will square off in a one-off Test in March 2019 in Dehradun. The series will consist of five ODIs, three Twenty20 Internationals in addition to the Test match. The dates for the matches will be from February 23 and the series will conclude with the Test match beginning on March 17, which is St.Patrick’s Day in Ireland. Both nations will be hoping to register their first Test win. For Afghanistan, they will want to perform impressively ahead of the 2019 World Cup in England which they qualified after beating the West Indies in the ICC World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe in 2017.
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Ireland put up a solid display in their maiden Test against Pakistan at Malahide in May. Kevin O’Brien stole the show by becoming the first Ireland player to hit a Test century but Pakistan held their nerve to win the match by five wickets. On the other hand, Afghanistan had a torrid introduction to Tests against India in June at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. Centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay helped India to 474 and Afghanistan were bowled out for 109 and 103 to lose by an innings and 262 runs.
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“Afghanistan is a quality side with world-class players - it'll be a great challenge in their 'home' conditions. The series is a major step forward for Irish cricket as the tour is the first one as a Full Member,” Irish batsman Andrew Balbirnie told ESPNCricinfo.
Ireland, who stunned the cricketing world with wins over Pakistan and England in the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, are not part of the 2019 edition as they missed out on qualification. However, this year promises to be special for Ireland as they play a Test against England for the first time in Lord’s.
Both Afghanistan and Ireland were awarded full Test status by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in June 2017 during a full council meeting of the international cricket board
Full schedule
Twenty20 Internationals
First match: February 23
Second match: February 24
Third match: February 26
ODI series
First match: March 2
Second match: March 4
Third match: March 7
Fourth match: March 9
Fifth match: March 12
One-off Test: March 17-21
