T20 World Cup 2024: India thrash Ireland by eight wickets

NEW York: India defeated Ireland by eight wickets in the first match of the T20 World Cup 2024 played at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma scored 52 runs in 37 balls with the help of 7 fours.

Rishabh Pant scored 36 runs off 26 balls as the Men in Blue achieved the target of 97 runs in 12.2 overs.

Earlier, India bowlers rattled Ireland for 96. Paul Stirling and his men failed to put up a show with the bat as Indian bowlers delivered exceptional performance collectively.

Gareth Delany was the best batter for Ireland, scoring crucial 26 runs.

Meanwhile, Josh Little (14), Lorcan Tucker (10), Curtis Campher (12) were the only Irish batters reaching in the double figures.

Hardik Pandya starred with figures of 3/27 while Jasprit Bumrah took 2/6. Arshdeep Singh also contributed with 2/35. Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj shared a wicket each.

Earlier, India won the toss and put Ireland into bat first. Rohit said that after featuring in a warm-up game at the same pitch, they know how the pitch will play.

Playing XIs of both sides

Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), Andy Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little, Ben White.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.