Jasprit Bumrah-led India to face Ireland in opening T20I of the series

After a disappointing end to the West Indies series, India would be taking on Ireland in the latter’s den with Jasprit Bumrah’s return to the mix being the highlight of the series. Not only is Bumrah returning to the fold after a long hiatus following his stress fracture in the lower back, but he will also be leading the lines for the Indian cricket team.

With a young side at his behest, Jasprit Bumrah would be hopeful of challenging the Irish forces that does have quite a few reckoning monikers in their echelons in the form of Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Stirling, Mark Adair, Curtis Campher and most importantly Joshua Little.

India will be riding high on the form of Tilak Varma, who had an excellent series against West Indies in the T20Is while Rinku Singh would be hoping to bag his debut in international cricket. RCB represent, Shahbaz Ahamad, will also be a crucial factor in the Indian ranks while a returning Washington Sundar can very well be the key to India’s chances of a bright start.

It will be intriguing to watch whether India opts for Jitesh Sharma for the wicket-keeping position or hands over another chance to the experienced Sanju Samson, who had a questionable outing in the Caribbean Islands.

Ireland will be coming to this series from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup European qualifiers where they were humbled by Scotland in the last game despite the battle going down to the wire. However, ahead of that defeat, they were able to inflict a resounding shellacking on the likes of Jersey, Austria, Denmark, and Italy in the tournament.

With Paul Stirling returning to the helm of affairs, Ireland would be hoping to carry forth the same momentum that was procured in the European qualifiers. With the likes of Tector, Campher, Delany and George Dockrell manning their top-order, Ireland would be definitely excited to grab the tickets to what can very well be an upset for the ages to arrive.

With all said and done, this is going to be a crucial contest for the Indian captain while the newcomers to the team will be hoping to put up a show against a seasoned Ireland who would eye history by shocking the Men in Blue.

Venue Watch:

The average score at the Village Cricket Stadium in the first innings in T20I is 167 which clearly sets a precedent that it is going to be a batting track. Both the sides have some explosive batting options and would be hoping to bat first if the toss is being won. However, the team batting second may have to bat with more zing as the track may erode with time that would allow the bowlers to get back in the game but once again, this side of the track is debatable.

Head to head:

Matches played: 5

Ireland: 0

India: 5

Match Details:

Match: Ireland vs India, 1st T20I

Venue: The Village Stadium, Malahide

Date: 18th August, 2023

Time: 8:00 PM IST

Ireland: 

Paul Stirling (Captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Gareth Delany, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Lorcan Tucker (WK), Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Barry McCarthy, Theo van Woerkom, Benjamin White, Craig Young

India:

Jasprit Bumrah (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan.