India brushed away Ireland in their opening encounter of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, led by their pace group especially fired by Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya alongside Arshdeep Singh who shared nine wickets between them. They first managed to restrict Ireland to a paltry 96 before a fifty from captain Rohit Sharma helped finish the chase without any hiccups. Jasprit Bumrah proved unplayable with figures of 2 for 6 in just 3 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj and Hardik picked up 8 for 81 between them, extracting seam movement and up-and-down bounce right through an Ireland innings that lasted just 16 overs.
Pitch and Toss
63 meters square boundary on one side, 72 on the other, and 74 meters straight boundary. Outfield, which was sluggish in last game, has been given an extra cut. Surface looks okay. It’s pitch number four, SA-SL was on pitch number one. 180 was scored by India in the warm-up game here.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bowl leaving out Yashaswi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav and Sanju Samson . Ireland skipper Paul Stirling batting first also had 3 pacers to their line ups.
Arshdeep Singh sets the tone in the Powerplay
The first two overs gave enough of a clue of how this pitch would behave, with both Arshdeep and Siraj extracting inconsistent bounce. One ball from Arshdeep – seam-up rather than a slower ball or cutter – bounced a second time before reaching wicketkeeper Pant, but most of the inconsistency was up rather than down, with one ball forcing Pant into a leaping, overhead, goalkeeper-style save.
Ireland collapse to 96 all out as Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya fiery spell dismantled Irish confidence
Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah were the next in line to cash in on the assistance on offer. Pandya got one to seam in big and burst through Lorcan Tucker’s ambitious drive while Jasprit Bumrah bounced out Harry Tector. Curtis Campher then nicked Pandya behind as the wickets procession refused to abate. Brought back into the attack, Siraj had a slice of the pie as George Dockrell was caught after being dropped in the over.
Ireland ended up losing a wicket in each over after the powerplay until the 13th. Even Axar Patel who was brought in sneaked in a caught and bowled as everything that could go wrong did so for Ireland. Gareth Delany used the long handle to good effect as Ireland notched up 96 before a run-out brought an end to a shambolic innings on a tough pitch. Jasprit Bumrah with his deadly yorkers seemed like a man on the mission with his immaculate lines and lengths.
They eventually crossed that mark, with Gareth Delany’s risk-taking coming off – where that of his team-mates’ mostly didn’t – in a 14-ball 26 that carried Ireland to 96.
Rohit Sharma carries India safely through the powerplay
The pitch did not show any signs of easing up when India went in to chase either. Virat Kohli got out before getting his eye in as he attempted a big shot and was caught at third man. His opening partner, skipper Rohit Sharma had a difficult time against Mark Adair, off whom he was put down at slip, in particular. But he managed to put away the balls whizzing past the bat to keep hitting timely boundaries. He hit four of the five that India hit in the powerplay and got the chase going at a decent clip.
Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant finishes the job quickly for India in 12.3 overs
Rohit Sharma kickstarted his campaign with a well-earned fifty as he shifted gears with a couple of pull shots. He had good company in Rishabh Pant who remained unbeaten on 36 as the duo put on a 69-run stand. The pitch continued to make an impression even through this partnership as both batter got hit off steep bounce from awkward lengths.
While Pant managed to see through the innings despite a blow on his left hand, Rohit had to retire hurt as he was hit on the neck while attempting a scoop. Nevertheless, India saw through these challenges to emerge victorious by a handsome margin.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Paul Stirling the loosing skipper said: Toss played a crucial part – stuck in to bat in overcast conditions. We needed to put a bit of pressure back on the Indian bowlers. They didn’t really miss that often. Their groupings and lengths were outstanding. Any time in the middle is crucial for us. We’ll be back here for a couple of days. Will give it a good crack against Canada.
Rohit Sharma the winning skipper said: Yeah, just a little sore (the arm). I said it at the toss as well. Quite unsure of what to expect from the pitch. Not aware on what it is to play like on a pitch that’s five months old. I don’t think the wicket settled down even when we batted second. There was enough for the bowlers. That’s pretty much what you gotta do. Try to hit those lengths consistently. All these guys have played a lot of Test cricket. Arshdeep is the only guy who hasn’t.
His two wickets upfront set the tone for us. Don’t think we can play four spinners here (laughs). When we picked the team, we wanted to have the balance. If conditions are there for seamers, we wanted to have that. Spin will play a part later on. Today was a four-seamer pitch and we still managed to get two spinners who are allrounders.
I don’t know what to expect from the pitch to be honest. We will prepare as if the conditions are going to be like this (for Pakistan game). This is going to be a kind of game where all XI of us will need to contribute. It was scratchy, but good to spend some time in the middle and understand what kind of shots to play there.
Jasprit Bumrah Player of the Match for his miser figures said : Coming from India, with the ball seaming around, I wouldn’t complain when there’s help for bowlers. In this format you have to adapt to the conditions, you have to be proactive. Trying to stick to the plans and trying to go back to what has worked for me. You always want to cover all the bases in these conditions. You got to be prepared, very happy with the outing today.
India have chased down the target of 97 with plenty of time to spare, but they do have some bruises to show for it, quite literally. There were just too many deliveries spitting up off a length on a pitch that was a minefield for the batters. Rohit was hit a few times – having to retire hurt because of the blow to his right arm. Pant took a number of blows as well, managing to just about hang in and finish it off. A tournament as big as this one deserves better pitches, and the ones at this venue so far have been disappointing to say the least.
We had Sri Lanka getting bowled out for 77 a couple of days ago, and now this today. Ireland were just blown away by a quality performance from the Indian seamers with Hardik taking a three-fer, while Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep and Siraj being in the wickets as well. They feasted on the prodigious movement on offer, the variable bounce and the two-paced nature of the surface.
New York’s second match as a T20I venue was a lot like its first: low-scoring and brutal. Two days after South Africa bowled Sri Lanka out for 77 here, India bowled Ireland out for 96. A different strip was used for this game, but the bounce was just as inconsistent, and batting just as difficult, if not outright dangerous.
India’s selection was spot-on – they picked four fast bowlers including Hardik Pandya, and two spin-bowling allrounders to lengthen their batting, which meant they left Kuldeep Yadav on the bench. They didn’t need all that batting in the end, as Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant helped them cross the line with 46 balls remaining, but the packed pace attack proved extremely useful.
Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik picked up 8 for 81 between them, extracting seam movement and up-and-down bounce right through an Ireland innings that lasted just 16 overs.
As good as those performances were, though, this match will be remembered for the conditions. Batters from both teams took body blows – Rohit retired hurt on 52, soon after being struck on the arm – and by the time India wrapped up their win, their thoughts may have gone ahead to June 9 at the same venue, and what kind of pitch they may have to play Pakistan on.
Ireland take on Canada on the same ground on June 7 while India take on Pakistan two days later, again in New York. . India are off the mark in this tournament and will have their big game against Pakistan on Sunday at this very venue. They’ll be relieved that the blow to Rohit’s arm isn’t that much of a concern. Meanwhile, Ireland also have another game here as they take on Canada on Friday. They’ll hope for a much better performance after getting blown away today. Fingers crossed that the pitch settles down going forward at this venue.