The International Cricket Council (ICC) group stage is set for an exciting affair as England and Ireland go head-to-head at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the early match on Wednesday morning. While England have a spring in their step, New Zealand too will be geared up for their clash against Afghanistan as they try to take an early advantage in Group 1 with that clash also taking place at the MCG in the afternoon session.
England eye win against neighbours Ireland
England's focus will be firmly on victory, but Jos Buttler's men would most likely be eyeing the net run rate where even small margins could easily play spoilsport.
England have only played Ireland once in T20Is, way back in 2010, with rain ending what could have been quite an entertaining match given that England finished on 120/8 in their 20 overs.
Australia gave theirs a boost with Marcus Stoinis punctuating Aaron Finch's sluggish knock with sparkle from the other end. New Zealand are already quite a bit on top with their massive win margin against Australia.
Ireland were on a high after the thumping win over West Indies to qualify for the Super 12, but have been brought back to the ground after a nine-wicket loss to Sri Lanka.
Spirited New Zealand host Afghanistan in Group 1
Kane Williamson and his men have momentum in their favour as they are coming into this match on the back of a big win against Australia. The batters delivered an excellent performance after the dismal show against South Africa and the bowlers were brilliant as usual.
Afghanistan will be banking on their spinners once again as they look to bounce back against New Zealand in their second Super12 encounter of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at the MCG in Melbourne on Wednesday.
When will the matches start?
The Englnad vs Ireand contest will start at 9:30 AM IST followed by New Zelqands vs Afghinathan at 1:30 PM IST with both matches taking place at the MCG.
Predicted Playing XI
England
Jos Buttler (c), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Ireland
Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, George Dockrell, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Simi Singh, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little
New Zealand
Devon Conway (wk), Finn Allen, Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Afghanistan
Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi
