Can Ireland stay alive in the series?

The first T20I ended up being a damp squib, as the visiting Indians defeated Ireland by two runs via DLS method. Although, it could not delay Jasprit Bumrah's much-awaited return to international cricket. 

The Indian setup and fans will take great heart from how their skipper went about his business in the first T20I. He was good in the powerplay and was even better at the death. His opening burst showed what India’s bowling had been lacking in the last 12 months. Hopefully, Bumrah will be back to bowling full tilt come the 2023 ODI World Cup. 

The other highlight was Ravi Bishnoi’s performance. He consistently hit tight lengths and suffocated the Irish batters to great effect. The small dimensions at Malahide notwithstanding, he conceded only two boundaries in his four overs and ended his spell with important wickets of the skipper Paul Stirling and Mark Adair. 

Things to watch out for 

Sanju Samson yet to prove himself

In our previous preview, we spoke about Sanju Samson needing a stellar series in Ireland. At 46/2, the stage was set for Sanju to take India home. Unfortunately, rain decided to play spoilsport as the stylish right-hander got to face just a single delivery. With Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, and Shivam Dube breathing down his neck for the same spot, the dashing batter will hope to grab his opportunities with both hands whenever the opportunity arises.

Given that the next edition of the T20 World Cup will happen in West Indies, the Indian team would want someone as proficient against slow bowlers as Samson to nail his spot at the earliest. Samson’s spot in the squad has repeatedly been defended by arguing that he’s not gotten a long enough rope. Eight games against Ireland and West Indies will make it harder to argue based on just that. 

India’s lack of batting depth 

The first match saw India play Bumrah at #8. In a knockout format like the World Cup, this could come back to hurt them badly. Add their inexperienced middle-order batters to that, and Ireland’s bowlers would be licking their lips at the thought of exploiting this weakness. 

Even in the first game, the Irish pacers were on the mark in the first four overs. They did not allow proven boundary hitters of the calibre of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal to go after them easily. Can Ireland conjure their first-ever win against India on Sunday (August 20)?

Pitch and Conditions

The Village in Malahide, Dublin, is one of the major cricketing venues in Ireland. However, due to the lack of international cricket in the country, even this venue has hosted only four games since 2021, two of which were against India last year. It has been a high-scoring venue with first innings scores of 225, 108 (in 12 overs) and 165 in three of those games, but India did well to restrict Ireland to just 139 in the first encounter. 

In T20Is since 2021, the spinners here have picked just 28% of the total wickets and have done so at an economy rate of 7.9, which is significantly better than the pacers, who have conceded at nine an over. Hence, there's something in the track for both. 

Rain forecasts predict a brief spell of light showers in the noon, around the start of play. It is expected to be overcast throughout the evening. 

Tactical Nous

Irish batters seemed all at sea while facing Bishnoi and Washington Sundar in Malahide. In fact, this year, Ireland have scored at a run-rate of 7.7 against spin as opposed to 8.5 while playing pace. The spin duo had returns of 2/42 in their seven overs in the first game - expect them to be used early on in the powerplay to stifle the opposition. 

Ireland might go the opposite way when it comes to bowling tactics. Trying to replicate what India’s bowlers did wouldn’t yield similar results for two reasons - Indian batters will happily play spin, and Ireland don’t have enough quality spinners in their ranks to trouble India. 

Instead, expect the hosts to depend on their pacers to get them early breakthroughs. It wouldn’t be entirely surprising if we saw very little to no spin in the second game. They could very well double down on Craig Young and hand him the new ball, to begin with. 

Probable XIs

The hosts will most likely not make any tweaks to their side. The only possible change they could consider is bringing in Gareth Delany for Ben White to shore up their batting reserves.

Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Stirling (C), Lorcan Tucker (WK), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Ben White/Gareth Delany, Craig Young, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little

Barring any injury-forced replacements, India will most likely field the same XI in the second game as well. 

India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Verma, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah (C), Prasidh Krishna