India vs Ireland Live T20 World Cup 2024: India hammer Ireland by 8 wickets to begin campaign on a winning note

India vs Ireland, T20 World Cup Group A match in New York, TOSS: India won the toss, and skipper Rohit Sharma opted to field against Ireland.

The ‘Hitman’ later revealed Yashasvi Jaiswal as one of the players benched for the fixture, which confirmed Virat Kohli as his opening partner. Additionally, the Men in Blue went with five seamers for the fixture, picking all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube besides three frontline pacers in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh.

India vs Ireland, T20 World Cup Group A match in New York, Preview: India will be aiming to begin their T20 World Cup on a winning note in their tournament opener against Ireland in New York on Wednesday.

India had previously defeated Bangladesh at New York’s Nassau County International Stadium in their only practice match ahead of the tournament. The Rohit Sharma-led team, thus, will be a lot more familiar with the conditions at the newly-inaugurated venue than their opponents, who had lost to Sri Lanka by 41 runs in their warm-up game that took place in Lauderhill, Florida.

India had posted a challenging total of 182 in their warmup clash at the same venue where the South African pacers ran riot on Monday and bundled out for a paltry 77. Additionally, their bowlers had also bowled with good rhythm, as Bangladesh were restricted to 122/9 in reply.

Neither Virat Kohli nor Yashasvi Jaiswal were part of the warm-up clash, and it remains to be seen who gets to open the innings alongside skipper Rohit on Wednesday.

Rohit, additionally, had emphasised on the Men in Blue making full use of their all-rounders in the tournament. Given the pace-friendly conditions on offer in New York, that could mean both Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube getting included in the middle-order.

Ireland have never defeated India in any format and, giving their credentials as giant-killers, will be hoping to end that winless run on Wednesday.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.

Ireland: Paul Stirling(c), Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker(wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Benjamin White.