ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024: India eye head start against Ireland

New York: After the gruelling more than two months of Indian Premier League (IPL) action, the Indian stars will return for national duty in their ICC Men's T20 World Cup opener against Ireland at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday. 

The warm-up match against Bangladesh on Saturday must have given them a slight idea of the drop-in pitches on the makeshift New York stadium but the real test awaits them. In the first match of the venue between South Africa and Sri Lanka, the latter were bowled out for 77 which raised eyebrows over the wicket.

The pitch will pose a great challenge for the Indian batters due to its low bounce and slow nature. Apart from the pitch, the game will give the Indian team a real picture of their preparations before taking on arch-rivals Pakistan at the same venue on Sunday.

The biggest question for India before the game is who will open along with captain Rohit Sharma. Will it be Virat Kohli or left-handed batter Yashasvi Jaiswal? Kohli has proved his mettle at the top of the IPL after finishing the tournament as the highest run-getter while the southpaw and the skipper failed to remain consistent in the cash-rich league.

Other than the opening puzzle, Rishabh Pant is likely to play as first-choice wicketkeeper-batter after his fiery fifty in the warm-up following the blistering IPL season.

However, Sanju Samson has done no wrong to not deserve that place but Pant's unpredictable shot-making gives him an edge over the Kerala batter.

Another question for the Indian team will be what bowling combination to pick for the clash, whether to go with three pacers including Hardik Pandya and two spinners, or to pick four pacers and a spinner.

Team management will likely stick with Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja as the spin duo. At the same time, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj or Arshdeep Singh will lead the pace attack and Pandya will chip in as the fifth bowling option.

On the other hand, Ireland will hope to spoil India's party in Group A with their spontaneous style of cricket. Veteran Paul Sterling will lead the side that boasts a lot of experienced T20 players including the likes of Andy Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, and Josh Tongue.

Despite having a 7-0 win record against Ireland in the T20 World Cups, the Men in Blue will not take the opponents lightly as they are very much aware of their competitive mindset. IANS

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