India is going to tour Ireland for a 2 T20I Match Series starting from 26th June. This T20I Series is going to take place in Ireland and all the matches are going to be played in Dublin. The peculiarity of this T20I Series is that India’s first-choice players are rested from the tour and BCCI has sent a second-string team.
The first-choice players currently are playing warm-up matches as India is going to play the 5th Test Match against England on 1st July. This is an excellent opportunity for Ireland to stamp their authority as in T20Is couple of balls are enough to change the dynamics of the match.
This T20I Series is extremely important for Ireland as in the 2021 edition of the ICC T20 World Cup, they had failed to make it to the main event. They were knocked out by the newbie Namibia and they still would be burning as a team of their caliber was the favorite to qualify. They now have a strong chance to make their team a sturdy one as the next T20 World Cup is around the corner.
The Hosts once again look like a dominant force in the batting department as they have got Stirling present. The all-rounder batter is doing his best and making sure that Ireland gets off to a flyer. He is one of the few players who set the tone. The skipper Andrew Balbirine needs to make sure that he is sticking to the crease and most importantly accompany Stirling.
Apart from these two batters, the lineup looks a bit topsy-turvy. They don’t have prominent batters who can set the stage on fire. The likes of Harry Tector, Gareth Delany, and Curtis Campher can play a second fiddle which is their specialty, and expecting a 70-80 run from them would be a bit too much. All in all, Ireland’s weak link is their batting where the batters can’t put a score over 170-190.
The bowling department is well equipped as they have got the likes of Joshua Little, and Mark Adair and in the spin department, they have got George Dockrell and Andy Mcbrine. The spin twins are capable of being economical, especially Dockrell who has the knack of being a partnership-breaker.
Ireland has a golden opportunity to beat India; even if India has a second-string team. India has the wealth of talent that they can beat any team on their day. We all know, that India recently squared the Series against South Africa by 2-2 after being 2-0 down which speaks a lot about India’s depth. In that series, the 1st choice players were given a break.
The Visitors would sense that they have a chance to test their bench strength. India had a forgettable T20 World Cup 2021 in which they were knocked out in the first round itself. To rectify the mistakes a process has been started in which young and deserving players like Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, and Harshal Patel have been given a chance with a long rope.
The openers Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad are making sure that they are playing smart cricket. Most of the times Kishan plays the role of aggressor and later Ruturaj takes the baton forward. Ruturaj did not have a convincing series against South Africa as most of the times; he was seen struggling which is not a good sign as every time Ishan won’t take the team out of deep trouble.
In the absence of Rishabh Pant who is with the Test Squad, Hardik Pandya is the skipper for the Series. The dashing all-rounder won’t be able to believe the last 3 months as earlier he was blatantly ignored by the Selection Committee and now, he is the Captain of team India. At the same time, BCCI has made sure that his competitor Venkatesh Iyer is in the team which will make sure that he still has to regain the confidence of the Selectors.
The bowling attack of India looks deadly as they have got the likes of Bhuveneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Avesh Khan. This pace trio is capable of creating havoc that can’t be ignored. In all these India has got their premium spin bowler Yuzvendra Chahal who is a witty bowler who can bamboozle the opponent and then India has also got Bishnoi who is a crafty spinner.
Dinesh Karthik is under the spotlight as he has made a comeback to the National Team after a long hiatus of 3 years. He played a couple of brilliant cameos and knocks and it looked like he continued his IPL form into International Arena. He has 3-4 series before Head Coach Rahul Dravid takes a final call on his availability and it would be interesting to see how many runs he scores in the upcoming series. All in all, there is a ray of hope for DK and at the same time Rishabh Pant would be worried as his place is under the scanner as he had a terrible South Africa Series
- Recent tour to Ireland and its Overview
In 2018, India had toured Ireland for a two T20I Match Series in which India had white-washed Ireland. In that Series, India dominated Ireland and didn’t give them a chance to stamp their authority.
Ireland had lost the Matches by 70 odd runs and 140 odd runs which meant that Ireland was off color and was completely blown away by the brigadier of Virat Kohli. It won’t be wrong to say that India has become a more powerful house after that tour and at the same time Ireland has started making in-roads.
- Tactics for India and Ireland
India needs to make sure that they are not gifting wickets and giving any freebies. This is a rare chance that Hardik has got and if he wants to be the Captain then he must showcase his credentials. It’s simple for India, they have to make sure that they need to pile on mammoth runs. All in all, India looks favorite to clinch the Series by 2-0 unless and until Ireland produces a performance out of the box and comes out all guns blazing.
Ireland’s batters need to stick to the crease to score huge runs. Unless and until, one of their batters plays a knock of 70-80 runs then only they have a chance, otherwise it would be a cake-walk for the Courageous Men in Blue. All in all, Ireland should aim for squaring the Series which indeed would be a great achievement as compared to winning which currently looks improbable and it won’t be wrong to say that Ireland can spoil the party of a billion people
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