After beating a less competitive team (Afghanistan) for them, England is about to face Ireland, which is again a game with the upper hand for England. This is because of the massive bench strength the English have. But it is a T20 game; anyone can beat a bigger team on a given day. Ireland will be walking with their head held high to face their neighbours. Who knows, Ireland can even upset England as the Netherlands did at the 2009 World Cup.
Match Details
Ground: MCG, Melbourne
Date: October 26, 2022
Time: 9.30 AM IST / 04:00 AM GMT / 03:00 PM LOCAL
Pitch Report
MCG is where sensational IND vs PAK of this tournament happened. It is a very hard pitch. The pace on the pitch is extraordinary. At the same time, the swing and seam were at their best for the seamers till 8- 9 overs. After the middle overs, the ball comes easy to the bat. So it’s a proper T20 wicket which favours both batting and bowling.
Probable Playing XIs
England
Jos Buttler (C), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Alex Hales
Ireland
Andy Balbirnie (C), Paul Stirling, Curtis Campher, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (WK), Simi Singh, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Mark Adair
Fantasy Picks
Captain: B Stokes
All-rounder B Stokes will open the bowling for England, and he will be completing his complete quota of four overs. With the swinging conditions in Melbourne, he will get good assistance. With the bat, he usually walks in at No. 4 . If required, he will come up high in the order too.
Vice-captain: C Woakes
Chris Woakes, with his pace and swing, in the beginning, will be threatening the Irish batters. In addition, he will be bowling the death overs too. Perfect choice for a vice-captain in a match like this.
Wicketkeeper: J Buttler
J Buttler is an obvious option. Don’t miss him.
Batters: A Hales, P Stirling, H Tector
Hales wants to get in good touch before contesting with bigger teams.
P Stirling doesn’t care who the opponents are. That’s what makes him super special.
Meanwhile, H Tector seems technically staunch in the middle for Ireland. He is a good option for a batter in this game.
All-rounders: B Stokes, S Curran, C Campher
S Curran, the man of the match of the last game, will be looking to stretch his ability in the games like this.
In the swinging conditions, C Campher might get an opportunity to walk in earlier to the crease. And he has proven potential.
Bowlers: C Woakes, M Wood, A Rashid, J Little
M Wood and J Little are the two speedsters who will love bowling in these conditions for the kind of release they have.
Ireland doesn’t seem so good at playing spin bowling. This will give an edge to A Rashid, who can spin with many variations.
Winning Dream11 Team
