IRE v IND 2018: 1st T20I - India looking for a good start to UK sojourn

India plays Ireland in a short two-match T20I series before heading back to England.

Team India will look to gain momentum in Ireland | Getty Images

India and Ireland will play the first T20I of the two match series at the Malahide Club Ground in Dublin.

The two countries are playing only the second T20I between them and India are touring Ireland after more than a decade.

Now a Test playing nation, Ireland has high hopes from their players against a full strength Indian side, that includes Virat Kohli.

Ireland gave a tough fight to Pakistan in their debut Test and since then did relatively well in the tri-series involving Scotland and the Netherlands. Players like Gary Wilson, Andy Balbirnie, Kevin O’Brien, George Dockrell etc are waiting for an opportunity to face the best teams.

Their bowling also looks good with Boyd Rankin, S Thompson and Simi Singh leading the attack.

India, on the hand, will look at this as an opportunity to get used to the UK conditions as nicely as possible. Rohit Sharma will return to the country where he made his international debut for India.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav will love to bowl here thanks to the generous swing and seam the conditions present.

Expect a stutter to India’s start as some of the players are coming off a two month layoff period and will be jittery. But the quality speaks for itself. 

Virat Kohli would like to start the UK tour with a win against a formidable opponents who are playing in their own backyard.

TOSS: Ireland won the toss and elected to bowl first

PLAYING XIs

IRELAND: Gary Wilson*, Paul Stirling, James Shannon, Andrew Balbirnie, Simi Singh, Stuart Poynter (w), Kevin O Brien, Stuart Thompson, George Dockrell, Boyd Rankin, Peter Chase

INDIA: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli*, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (w), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 27 Jun, 2018

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