🏏Ireland vs India, 1st T20I, Venue: The Village, Dublin 🏏 - Page 3

Striling: Looking forward to going out there. We have had a good run in Scotland, let's see what we can show today. This is the beginiing of the road to 2024 and the World Cup.

Ireland XI: 1 Paul Stirling (capt), 2 Andrew Balbirnie, 3 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 4 Harry Tector, 5 Curtis Campher, 6 George Dockrell, 7 Mark Adair, 8 Barry McCarthy, 9 Craig Young, 10 Josh Little, 11 Ben White.

India XI: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Sanju Samson (wk), 4 Tilak Varma, 4 Rinku Singh, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Arshdeep Singh, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Jasprit Bumrah (capt), 11 Prasidh Krishna

Ireland, fresh off their impressive performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Region Qualifier 2023, are riding high on confidence. The team exhibited remarkable grit and determination, finishing as runners-up in the qualifier tournament. This achievement secured their coveted berth in the upcoming 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, setting the stage for a spirited showdown against cricketing giants, India.

Pitch Report: This surface is known for pace, bounce and high scoring. Nice covering of grass on this pitch, it will seam around given the overcast conditions. But if batters can get set, they can score runs. The average first innings score is around 170, but you'll need atleast 180-85 to be competitive on this surface.

Bimal: "So in principle, the number 8 issue isn't solved yet. It is the same combination again, although with new comers in there!"

"Nice sprinkling of grass but this is a pitch where if you get set you can get runs. But the overcast conditions can help the bowlers," says Rohan Gavaskar in his pitch report.

Kaushal: "Why is no one talking about Shivam Dube? He's back in blue after a while.." Yup, after a stellar season with Chennai Super Kings!

So, the toss is done and the teams are in. Oh and Ruturaj Gaikwad has been officially named India's vice-captain today, as he gears up to lead the team in the Asian Games. We are set to start soon!

Ashish: "Avesh should get a game in this series. He travelled with the India team to WI as well and did not play." He may just come in as a rotation option for one of Bumrah or Prasidh Krishna as the series goes on.

Bumrah to Balbirnie, out Bowled!! Balbirnie b Bumrah 4(2) [4s-1]

Bumrah to Balbirnie, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

India have won the toss and have opted to field

Bumrah to Tucker, OUT

Lorcan Tucker c †Samson b Bumrah 0 (3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0

Jasprit Bumrah | India Captain: We'll bowl first, very happy to be here. The weather looks lovely. I feel good, looking forward to play some cricket. You realise what you were missing, very happy to be back. We expect nothing short of a fight from Ireland. As a fast bowler, I hope the pitch does something. We have two debuts - Rinku and Prasidh Krishna. Told them to just enjoy their cricket.