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India's ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 campaign commenced with an 8-wicket triumph over Ireland.
Opting to bowl first, India bundled Ireland out for only 96 runs.
Hardik Pandya took three wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh picked up two wickets apiece.
With the bat, the 2007 champions crossed the finish line in 12.2 overs, losing only 2 wickets in the process.
Captain Rohit Sharma scored 52 runs.
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India vs Ireland Live Score, T20 World Cup 2024 match today live updates: Four months since the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) secretary, Jay Shah announced the team will hoist the flag on Barbadian soil, Indian cricket team's 'Mission Barbados' will commence nearly 3,500 kilometres away from the Caribbean island, in the United States of America's New York.
At the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, Rohit Sharma's team will face a spirited, be it comparatively much weaker and inexperienced, Ireland team. On India's agenda will be a flawless first match, but Ireland has a sizeable history of pulling off upsets at the biggest of stages.
We will be bringing you all the live updates from the match.
Among the many talking points prior to the toss is India's opening pair, as the two most experienced players, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are likely to open the innings. Both have excelled in the role in individual capacities, but never as a pair, as they have opened together only once in T20I cricket.
Rohit Sharma has won the flip of the coin, and we will see India's bowlers in action first.
"We played on a similar pitch and we know what to expect. I know it's going to be slightly different from what we're used to. But that's what the sport is," he said.
And so it is confirmed – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be opening for India! India have picked both Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, with Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal missing out. Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah are the specialist pacers, with Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube providing Sharma with seam alternatives.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.
Ireland Playing XI: Paul Stirling (c), Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Benjamin White.
And here we go! Arshdeep Singh is opening the bowling for India. Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling the opening the innings for Ireland.
Three runs came from the over. Key takeaways – uneven bounce, (extremely) slow outfield.
Mohammed Siraj bowled the second over, and the two-paced nature of the track was on display again. One delivery barely carried to the wicketkeeper, the other nearly went over Rishabh Pant's head. 4 runs came off it.
Ireland: 7/0 after 2 overs.
WICKET!
The Irish skipper has to depart. With the fielders being lined up on the off-side, Stirling tries to hit across the line towards mid-wicket. However, he could only top-edge the ball and Rishabh Pant takes a fairly simple catch.
BOWLED!
Arshdeep Singh strikes twice in the same over! On this occasion, he bamboozles Andrew Balbirnie to dismantle the former Irish skipper's stumps. While the previous dismissle resulted from scrambled seam, Arshdeep bowls this with straight seam. Balbirnie tries to guide it to third, but ends up exposing his stumps. Ireland are in trouble here.
Lorcan Tucker has had a great last few matches, and it was discernible in how he went for the lap shot this early in the game, against Mohammed Siraj, on a two-paced track.
Ireland: 13/2 after 4 overs.
This has been Ireland's best over in the game. 13 runs came off it, but only five of those came off the bat, as the others were in wides. Arshdeep's compass malfunctioned for a brief moment.
Ireland: 26/2 after 5 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah is introduced into the firing line for the last over of the powerplay, and he starts with a maiden. Of course he does! All six deliveries had the potential to pick a wicket, but somehow, Harry Tector survived on all of those occasions.
Ireland: 26/2 after 6 overs.
WICKET!
Hardik Pandya strikes in his first over. Peach of a delivery, dream of a dismissal, hitting the middle stump, but you would not be able to discern that by looking at Pandya's celebration. Barely a smile. There's no smile on Lorcan Tucker's face though, and rightfully so, for he has to take the long walk to the dressing room.
Ireland: 30/3 after 7 overs.
FOURTH WICKET!
Jasprit Bumrah joins the party, and Ireland are falling apart like a castle of cards here. Bumrah bangs the ball short, there's vicious bounce off the surface on this occasion, Harry Tector goes for the pull but the ball hits his bat and then his helmet, before finding a resting place among Virat Kohli's hands.
Ireland: 36/4 after 8 overs.
ANOTHER ONE!
A rejuvenated Hardik Pandya knows no stopping, although questions are bound to be raised on the condition of this drop-in pitch. Hardik bangs it short as well and Mark Adair goes for an upper cut, only to find Shivam Dube at the deep. Ireland have completely fallen apart.
Ireland: 49/7 after 11 overs.
EIGHTH WICKET!
Curtains might be called on the Irish innings very soon, as the eight wicket falls. Axar Patel is introduced into the attack, there is more grip for the tweakers than there is turn, and Barry McCarthy ends up hitting the ball straight back into the bowler. Axar, however, should be credited for a fine diving catch.
Ireland: 52/8 after 12 overs.
Some much needed respite from the Irish perspective! Gareth Delany hits a six, Joshua Little hits a four against his former Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya, and 14 runs come from the over.
Ireland: 66/8 after 13 overs.
This is some good rearguard action from Joshua Little. He hits another boundary as Ravindra Jadeja concedes 7 runs in his first over.
Ireland: 73/8 after 14 overs.
PEACH!
Jasprit Bumrah gets his second wicket, and how? By castling Joshua Little with an absolute peach of a yorker. Don't blame the pitch for this wicket, this was all about Bumrah's brilliance.
Ireland: 79/9 after 15 overs.
ALL OUT!
It went all wrong for Arshdeep in his last over, as he conceded two fours and a six. However, the last delivery has produced a wicket in the form on a run out. Gareth Delany is the last batter to depart, after scoring a commendable 14-ball 26.
Ireland all out for 96 runs. India need 97 runs to win.
DROPPED!
Ireland have handed Rohit Sharma a huge reprieve here. The Indian skipper edges Mark Adair's last delivery of the first over and the ball flies to the second slip. However, Andrew Balbirnie, who usually is a fantastic fielder, drops the chance of getting an early wicket.
India: 7/1 after 1 over.
WICKET!
Virat Kohli has to depart early here, and the crowd has been silenced! The former skipper never really got going and tried to free the shackles by playing a big shot. But the uneven bounce has caught him in a trap as he could not get proper connection on his shot and ended up giving a simple catching practice to Benjamin White at third. Kohli could score only 1 run in 5 deliveries.
India: 26/1 after 3 overs.
An excellent first over from Barry McCarthy, with three runs coming from it – all in singles. Whilst India are on course for a comfortable win, this is a difficult pitch for batters to score runs against pacers.
India: 29/1 after 3 overs.
Rishabh Pant is practically swinging his bat at everything, but is not being able to find any proper connection. Only four runs came from Mark Adair's third over.
India: 33/1 after 4 overs.
Another good over from the Irish perspective, except Rohit Sharma is keeping the scoreboard ticking by punishing the odd poor deliveries. Six runs come from Joshua Little's second over, courtesy of a boundary from Sharma's bat.
India: 39/1 after 5 overs.
India might not be sprinting towards the target, but they are certainly tip-toeing towards a victory. Four runs came from all-rounder Curtis Campher's first over. Uneventful.
India: 43/1 after 7 overs.
Finally, after numerous unsuccessful attempts, Rishabh Pant has successfully struck a four. Barry McCarthy was not as precise in his second over as he was in his first, conceding 9 runs.
India: 52/1 after 8 overs.
FIFTY!
Rohit Sharma has been lucky at times, but he has also been convincing when he has got going. On a pitch that is extremely difficult to bat on, the Indian captain has somehow managed to score a half-century. The last two overs produced 24 runs.
India: 76/1 after 10 overs.
Oh, lord! Rohit Sharma is leaving the field. Retired hurt. He was struck on the right elbow by a Joshua Little delivery a while ago. Indian fans will hope this is more a precautionary measure than a worrying sign.
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant is struck on the elbow by Little again, but he remains unscathed. In fact, he struck a six just a couple of deliveries later.
India: 85/1 in 11 overs.
WICKET!
Suryakumar Yadav has to depart barely a few minutes after being asked to finish the job. Goes for a slog-sweep against leg-spinner Benjamin White but could not find the right connection. Instead, he ended up finding George Dockreel at deep mid-wicket.
India: 91/2 after 12 overs.
VICTORY!
Rishabh Pant hits the winning shot, and dear me, it was a shot of real audacity. A reverse scoop against Barry McCarthy flies all the way past the ropes for a six.
India have beaten Ireland by 8 wickets.
Hardik Pandya picked up three wickets, Rohit Sharma scored a half-century, but the Player of the Match award is given to Jasprit Bumrah for his incredible numbers of 3-1-6-2.
Up next is the quintessentially epochal, perennially epic clash against Pakistan. It will be played at the same stadium on Sunday, 9 June, and we will bring you all live updates again.
Till then, good night. Stay hydrated!