The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a tough job in their hand as they face Ireland in a two-match ODI series. The first game is set to take place at ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai on Thursday (March 2), and the hosts will be keen to play quality cricket at their home ground.
The last time a ODI was played between the two associate nations of the ICC was at the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and it had turned out to be a thrilling contest. While Shaiman Anwar had scored a ton for the UAE, splendid shows from Gary Wilson and Kevin O' Brienhad helped Ireland win the encounter by two wickets at Brisbane.
Though that was more than two years ago, the UAE will be plotting a revenge. They need to play good cricket to beat Ireland which have some really talented players led by William Porterfield. They have always been a strong batting side and have defeated some big teams in the World Cup.
With experienced players such as Ed Joyce, Paul Stirling, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, Ireland will be tough challengers for a relatively inexperienced UAE side in the upcoming series as well. However, the UAE's advantage will be the home conditions.
The UAE might be a side in a transition, but they have some quality batsmen like Anwar, who will hope to deliver once again against Ireland. UAE skipper Rohan Mustafa will also need to get the best out of his men, including Ajad Jadev and Ghulam Shabbir.
Squads: UAE: Rohan Mustafa (c), Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir (w), Mohammed Qasim, Amjad Javed, Mohammed Naveed, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Laxman Sreekumar.
Ireland: William Porterfield (c), Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Gary Wilson (w), Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, George Dockrell, Barry McCarthy, Tim Murtagh, Andy Balbirnie, Andy McBrine, Jacob Mulder, Stuart Thompson, Craig Young.
Where to follow
The first ODI between UAE and Irealand is set to start at 10 am local time (11:30 am IST).
Live Scores will be available on the ICC official website
