India currently top the ICC Team ranking charts in white-ball formats but boy does that matter? The Asian team has always been a beast in bilaterals but have not been able to mimic the same invincibility in ICC Tournaments. There has been an ICC trophy drought in India ever since they won the Champion Trophy in 2013 and naturally, debates revolving around it sneak in somehow before every major tournament. During the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup, India’s performance was downright mortifying. Though the next edition saw them making it into the semis, the team was still not very impressive. India nearly escaped a defeat at the hands of Pakistan and Bangladesh, lost to South Africa during the group stages, and had to endure a hammering by England in the knockout stage. Luckily for the cricket-mad country, this time their team looks relatively better.
Ireland had their best World Cup campaign in years during the previous edition in 2022. They beat the two-time champions, West Indies in the First Round and then went on to trounce the eventual champions, England in a rain-curtailed match during the group stages. Just recently, the Irish created another upset by chasing down a 183-run target against Pakistan with half the team to spare. All of this points toward the fact that the Andy Balbirnie-led men are not to be seen as a breeze.
Team Overview:
Team India has Jasprit Bumrah back among them and there is no looking the other way from this that he could well be the missing piece that halted them from reaching the finals last time. But Bumrah might really be the only exciting prospect in an otherwise toothless pace bowling attack. Arshdeep Singh and Mohammad Siraj do not possess the mojo that pacers are generally feared for. But hey, we are talking about pitches that hold spinners in the highest regard. And to the Indian team’s relief, their spin attack has the metier required to bamboozle the opposition. As for batters, the Indian team has a strong top order, at least by the look of it. As per the stray news revolving around, Yashasvi Jaiswal would be sidelined to get Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav at the top.
Inconsistency is what plagues the Irish team. The batters generally have a knack for blitzkrieg-esque innings but providing stability or anchoring the innings is a responsibility they do not like taking. Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling could take that role pretty efficiently and they recently have shown the signs of providing solid starts as well. Lorcan Tucker, Curtis Campher, and Harry Tector are all brilliant but only when it’s their day. Ireland’s bowling unit looks a touch better. Josh Little, Mark Adair, and Barry McCarthy form a pretty decent fast-bowling pack, and paired with Ben White and Gareth Delany’s spin finesse they can do the job pretty well.
Head-to-Head Matches:
India holds a cent percent record against Ireland. On all seven occasions in the shortest format that both teams have faced each other, India has vanquished the European team.
Weather and Pitch Report:
The weather would probably be respectful towards the game as there are no significant chances of rain ruining the match. However, the same can not be said about the pitches at the newly-created stadium. The New York pitch has ignited many debates about it, especially after the Sri Lanka vs South Africa game where both teams could only make a combined total of 157 in 36.2 overs. Even if we do not give much credence to the numbers, the way the pitch plays is currently tricking many. The pitch was seen providing good bounce to balls, so much so the keeper had to collect the ball right in front of his face, and some balls hardly made it to the batter, It remains to be seen how the deck will behave in this match.
Prediction:
Although India are the favorite to win this match, doing so would require the team to not only play well but play better than the Irish. It would not be an easy task trying to outdo them in this format especially given how their pace unit is.
Where to Watch:
You can watch the games on the following platforms as per your region:
- India – Star Sports
- Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming) and Tamasha app (Live streaming)
- USA and Canada – Willow TV
- England – Sky Sports Network
- Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
- New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
- Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
