India will kickstart their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
India will look to start on a positive note whereas Ireland will give their best to defy the odds and script their first ever victory over India in T20is.
The game will be played on 5th June in New York.
Team overview:
Ireland:
If you think they are not tough competitors, then it’s time to correct your stats. Ireland, particularly in T20is have enjoyed some great moments in the recent past and played good cricket.
Ireland has confidence, talent, and such players who hold the ability to change the dynamics of the game in no time.
The Irish side will be confident heading into this encounter as they played impressive cricket against Pakistan, winning the first T20i of the series, recently.
They also top the chart in Netherlands tri-series, winning three of their four games as one game was washed-out.
Ireland will look to capitalise this momentum and will be banking hopes on Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Mark Adair, and Josh Little to light-up the stage.
Harry Tector in particular will be the centre of attention. Switch your mind back to the Ireland and India T20i series in 2022 where Irish played insanely good cricket albeit failed to cross the winning line.
Tector scored his highest T20i score against India accumulating 64 off 33. More recently against Afghanistan, he led his side to victory by scoring 56 off 34 balls on the slow and sluggish pitch of Sharjah.
India:
India are favourites to win but given the tricky conditions you can also expect otherwise.
Nevertheless, the morale of the side would be high after overpowering Bangladesh in a warm-up game. And of course most of the players were in red-hot form in the IPL this year, particularly Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah.
This match will also help the Indian side to build up the momentum ahead of the highly-anticipated game vs Pakistan on 9th June.
Besides the above-mentioned players, all eyes and hopes will be on the comeback star – Rishabh Pant.
It is yet to be seen if he performs or not but the comeback after the horrific car accident is the moment the cricketing fraternity will be cheering. Cricket is lucky to have him back and fans would be eager to watch his no-look flick sixes.
Head-to-Head
India and Ireland have played seven T20i games so far and all are won by Rohit Sharma’s men. Nevertheless, given the condition at Nassau stadium, Ireland might register their first T20i victory over India.
Pitch and weather report:
It will be the same ground where the South Africa vs Sri Lanka game was played. A pitch which troubled the batter and they could not score much.
Both Indian and Ireland pacers can run riot if their side bowls first, respectively.
The weather in New York is perfect for cricket – not too cold, not too hot, and no dew factor.
Predictions:
India are hot-favourite to win the contest as the team is strong, has confidence, and carries in-form players.
Where to watch:
Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming), Tamasha app (Live streaming), Tapmad (live streaming)
India – Star Sports
England – SkySport Network
USA and Canada (Willow TV)
Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
UK & Northern Ireland – Sky Sports
Sri Lanka – Maharaja TV
Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
