Indian cricket team will start their group-stage campaign with the first match against Ireland at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Wednesday. (Match Blog | Full Coverage | Streaming)
The matches in New York have been very one-sided but Wednesday's fixture is going to be an interesting one. Ireland's recent form has been remarkable and they pose a possible threat to the former champions.
The Rohit Sharma-led Indian side has not announced the batting lineup and may go with both veterans - Virat Kohli and the captain himself opening the batting with Sanju Samson at no. 3 and Suryakumar Yadav at no. 4.
The Paul Stirling-led side has a solid middle-order batting with Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector and Curtis Campher whereas Josh Little and Mark Adair will be leading the same-bowling unit. Andre Balbirnie is expected to open the inning along with the skipper.
Squads:
India Squad For ICC T20 World Cup 2024
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
Ireland Squad For ICC T20 World Cup 2024
Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock (wk), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Ben White and Craig Young.
As the Indian unit is going to take on the Irish side, three key player battles are worth looking out for:
1. Virat Kohli vs Josh Little
Indian batting stalwart Virat Kohli likes to mend his innings and then accelerate after a few overs. He will be trying to do the same against Ireland in their first group-stage match as well. But Joshua Little, who consistently bowls at 145-plus kph deliveries, may possess a threat. The left-arm seamer had also taken his wicket in the IPL 2024 when Kohli's RCB was chasing a modest target against GT. So, it will be an exciting player battle to look out for.
2. Paul Stirling vs Arshdeep Singh
Paul Stirling likes to take on bowlers from the word go and will be trying to do the same in New York as well. He plays with an attacking mindset and can be a very positive prospect for the Irish side if he bats for the first 10 overs. The left-arm Indian seamer, Arshdeep Singh has a knack for taking early wickets in the powerplay and will be keen to take the Irish captain's crucial wicket.
3. Suryakumar Yadav vs Mark Adair
The world no. 1 T20I batter, Suryakumar Yadav plays with a strike rate of above 140 and that keeps increasing as his inning progresses. He holds a greater value in adding that extra 20-30 runs and his wicket, arguably, could be the most important Indian wicket. Mark Adair has a lot of experience and both have played against each other earlier. So, it will be interesting to see how he plans against him and how the top 'shortest-format' player, builds his innings.
