5 bilateral ODI series to look forward in the first half of 2019
2019 is expected to be a festival for cricket fans considering the tournaments that are lined up for the year. While 2018 has had its fair share of exciting moments, 2019 promises to be even more exciting with the likes of 2019 ICC ODI World Cup, ICC Test Championship and the evergreen ‘The Ashes’ tournament.
The fans can expect some Box-office cricketing actions in the first half of the year as the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League is expected to commence in March and end in May just a few weeks before the quadrennial ODI tournament. Also, the Inaugural ICC Test Championship is a new Tournament that is going to commence in the 2nd half of 2019. This tournament is expected to commence in July with nine teams participating in it over a span of two years.
With a mix of Tests, T20s, and ODIs lined up for the year, we look at the five ODI series that fans would look forward to in the year 2019.
#5 Afghanistan vs Ireland in India (5 ODIs in March)
The battle between two associate cricketing nations, Afghanistan and Ireland, will be an exciting series to watch out for. While Afghanistan has improved leaps and bounds in the International stage in the past few years, Ireland cannot be taken lightly considering the odd surprises they have provided previously.
Ireland and Afghanistan will tour India that comprises T20Is, ODIs and a Test match. To remind the readers, India will host Afghanistan's home games till the security concerns ease out there in the home nation.
The series will kick-off with the T20Is starting from February 23rd, followed by five ODI matches and a one-off Test match which will be concluded by 21st of March.
All the games will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Dehradun. This venue previously hosted the Afghanistan vs Bangladesh T20I series in 2018, in which Afghanistan won 3-0. For starters, Afghanistan will start as favorites but we can never write off the Ireland team, who might throw some surprises.