India vs. Ireland T20 World Cup: India started the T20 World Cup with a convincing win over Ireland today. India won their opening World Cup match in New York, USA, over Ireland by eight wickets.
Chief Executive Officer Rohit Sharma choose to bowl first after winning the toss. The skilled Indian bowling squad continued to take wickets early on, limiting the Irish team to an only 96 runs. The Ireland side was all out in 16 overs and was unable to even bat for 20 overs.
Early in the game, Indian bowlers made an impact; Arshdeep claimed two wickets in the opening over alone. Ireland continued to lose wickets at regular intervals; in less than ten overs, they lost six wickets for just 49 runs. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals and the team got all out in just 16 overs, not even able to cross the 100 mark.
Only three of Ireland’s batsmen managed to score in the double digits, with Gareth Delany leading the way with 26. With the exception of Jadeja, every Indian bowler was a wicket taker. Arshdeep Singh claimed two wickets, while Hardik Pandya claimed three. While Bumrah took two wickets, Siraj and Axar Patel each took one.
As India chased down the mark of 97 with 46 balls remaining, wicketkeeper-battler Rishabh Pant chipped in with 36 not out off 26 balls. Captain Rohit Sharma top-scored for the team with a 37-ball 52 before retiring hurt.
India vs Ireland T20 World Cup Scorecard:
Ireland: 96 all out in 16 overs (Hardik Pandya 3/27, Arshdeep Singh 2/35, Jasprit Bumrah 2/6).
India: 97 for 2 in 12.2 overs (Rohit Sharma 52 retired hurt, Rishabh Pant 36 not out).
Team composition
India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
Ireland: Paul Stirling (Captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Benjamin White.
India will also play their next two matches at this venue – against Pakistan on June 9 and against co-hosts USA on June 12.