IRE vs UAE prediction: Who will win the Oman Quadrangular Series 1st T20I?
Ireland and UAE are set to lock horns in the first game of the Oman Quadrangular T20I series 2022 on Friday, February 11. The Al Amerat Cricket Ground (Ministry Turf 1) in Al Amerat will host the game.
Ireland, led by Andrew Balbirnie, have their task cut out. They haven't had the best of times in the shorter format, having lost quite a few games. They failed to qualify for the Super 12 of the T20 World Cup in Oman and the UAE last year.
Curtis Campher's hat-trick against the Netherlands was a bright spark, but losses in their others games knocked them out of contention. Thereafter, they also lost the first T20I against the USA in Lauderhill.
Paul Stirling has had stupendous outings over the last few months. After performing well against Zimbabwe in a bilateral series, the veteran showed his class in the 2022 Pakistan Super League (PSL). He opened the batting with Alex Hales, and played some jaw-dropping knocks.
Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Barry McCarthy and Craig Young should lead Ireland's fast bowling unit. Simi Singh and Andy McBrine are the regular spin-bowling options, with the part-timers George Dockrell. Harry Tector and Gareth Delany being promising prospects.
In the last two years, the UAE have had decent outings in the game's shorter formats. In 2020, they won all their five games pretty comprehensively. They took down Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar without breaking much sweat. Their five-match winning streak, though, came to an end when Namibia beat them by 17 runs at the ICCA in Dubai. Ireland then handed them a seven-wicket loss.
However, the UAE bounced back to winning ways, beating Ireland twice. The team, led by Ahmed Raza, will need to be on top of their game to beat the Irish again.
Will the UAE beat Ireland?
Ireland have beaten the UAE in four of their eight T20Is, since their first meeting in March 2014.
However, in their last two matchups, the UAE have dominated Ireland. After a 54-run victory, UAE beat Ireland by seven runs. In one of the two games, Muhammad Wasim scored a sparkling century. Nevertheless, Ireland are expected to turn the tables around in this match.
Prediction: Ireland to win this game.