New York: The mood of the Indian fans going into India’s tournament opener against Ireland is that of a party before the real deal, the supposed landscape changer, next Sunday between India and Pakistan.
The Ireland fixture may even look like a warm-up match to many but there is no reason as to why India should underestimate Ireland. The Irishmen come into this tournament after bagging wins against Pakistan and Afghanistan in the T20 format. Add to that the unpredictable pitch at the Nassau County International Stadium, and Ireland might even end up causing a huge upset.
If we go by the stats, India are ranked as the number one side in the world while Ireland occupy the eleventh spot, India have emerged victorious in all the 7 T20 matches that have been played between the 2 nations and coming into this tournament, India have only lost 2 T20Is out of a possible 14 while on the other hand, Ireland have lost 8 out of their last 14.
However, the World Cup is known to reduce the gaps among the teams. In the last edition, Ireland stunned the West Indies and eventual champions, England as well so it would not be a very big surprise if they manage to cause an upset against India.
Head coach Rahul Dravid understands the importance of this match and also knows about the price that the team can pay if they take any opposition lightly.
“We are preparing for this match in a similar way as we are preparing for Pakistan and Australia. We know that they recently defeated Pakistan. We know that Ireland plays a lot of T20 cricket. In this format, you can’t take anyone lightly,” he said on Monday.
An aspect that can come to haunt the Indian batsmen is the height of the Irish bowlers. Mark Adair is 6 feet 4, Josh Little stands at 6 feet 3, Craig Young is 6 feet 2 and Barry McCarthy, Ben White, Curtis Campher are all 6 feet 1. Tall seamers with brisk pace could be a devilish entity if the surface abets indifferent bounce, as it did in the game between South Africa and Sri Lanka. Not to forget the slow outfield of the stadium will pose it’s own challenges.
Sure, the Indian batsmen are aware and experienced but Ireland will be lurking in the shadows ready to pounce on any mistake that they make.
Ireland’s captain, Paul Stirling termed the game against India as “the trickiest of all” and Rohit Sharma can repay him with the exact same compliment. However, the larger narrative of the game will be the arrival of India so that they can breathe life into this World Cup and make it feel like one.
