Afghanistan are slated to take on Ireland in the only Test slated to be played at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi starting Wednesday, February 28.
Both teams are not a part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. Hence, the outcome of this Test match doesn't mean a lot for both and can be simply treated as a dress rehearsal for the white-ball series to follow.
Afghanistan suffered a shellacking in the last Test that they participated in. They were taken down by Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) by a margin of 10 wickets.
Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah are in some good red-ball form. While Ibrahim scored a hundred (114 runs) in the second innings of the only Test against the Lankan Lions, Rahmat played a brilliant knock of 91 in the first innings.
The other batters in the top and the middle order will have to contribute for the Asian side to get the better of the Irish.
On the other hand, Ireland last played a Test against England at Lord's in June 2023. They were comprehensively beaten by the Three Lions on that occasion by 10 wickets and are still searching for their maiden win in the red-ball format.
Tolerance Oval Pitch Report
Tolerance Oval is going to host its first-ever Test match. The ground is situated right next to the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Quite akin to the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, the pitch at the Tolerance Oval is expected to assist the batters more compared to the bowlers.
The ball is not expected to spin much early on and the spinners are likey to come into the game from day three onwards.
Afghanistan's likely playing XI:
Ibrahim Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ikram Alikhil, Nasir Jamal, Zia ur Rehman, Nijat Masood, Naveed Zadram, Zahir Khan
Ireland's likely playing XI:
James McCollom, Peter Moor, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Harry Tector, Paul Stirling, Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Theo van Woerkom, Craig Young
