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Widely tipped by many to go all the way and win their first ICC T20 World Cup since the inaugural edition back in 2007, India get their campaign underway against Ireland in the specially built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Eisenhower Park, New York.
DATE & TIME: Wednesday 5th June, 2024: USA (EST) – 10:30 / USA (WST) – 07:30 / USA (CST) – 09:30 / West Indies – 09:30 / UK – 15:30 / South Africa – 16:30 / Pakistan – 19:30 / India – 20:00 / Bangladesh – 20:30 & Wednesday 5th June, 2024 – Australia – 00:30
VENUE: Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, USA
WEATHER: Dry and hot conditions with sunny intervals and temperatures hitting over 30c.
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: USA – Willow TV / West Indies – ESPN Caribbean / UK – Sky Sports / South Africa – SuperSport / Pakistan – PTV Sports & TEN Sports / India – Star Sports / Bangladesh – Disney Star
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: USA – Willow TV website / West Indies – ESPN Play Caribbean app / UK – Sky Go / South Africa – SuperSport app / Pakistan – Myco & Tamasha / India – Disney+Hotstar / Bangladesh – Disney+Hotstar / Australia – Amazon Prime Video
INDIA FORM: INDIAN PLAYERS BACK TOGETHER AFTER LONG IPL SEASON
You have to go back to mid-January for the last time that India competed in T20i cricket, beating Afghanistan via a ‘Super Over’ after a tied-finish to complete a 3-0 series win. It was a relatively strong Indian side who featured across that series, with skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli all featuring, whilst key bowlers were given a rest.
LAST FIVE: WWWWL
IRELAND FORM: HEADING TO THE STATES ON THE BACK OF EXTENSIVE T20 PREP
In contrast to India, Ireland have thrown themselves knee-deep into T20i action over the past month or so in preparation for this competition. They gave Pakistan a big scare in Dublin, taking the first match off them in a three-game series before winning three of their four scheduled fixtures against Netherlands and Scotland respectively, the other being washed out.
LAST FIVE: WWAWL
INDIA BETTING ANALYSIS
The key point of difference within India’s bowling attack will be pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah. His speed, accuracy and unique action makes him one of the very best in the world in all forms of cricket. If Bumrah bowls to his usual standards, Ireland’s batters will struggle to survive against him and backing Bumrah to record 2+ wickets has to be favoured.
India are likely to target the powerplay for fast runs early on, but the experience of Rohit will be crucial in that regard. Playing on a drop-in pitch could lead to a sense of the unknown and a player such as the Indian skipper, who has seen it all across his career will surely be able to adapt accordingly depending on how the pitch plays. Back Rohit to score 30+ runs via the batter milestones market.
Assuming Rohit opens with Yashasvi Jaiswal, they will be seen as one of the most exciting partnerships across the entire ICC T20 World Cup and are well-placed to get their side off to a good start with the bat. Therefore, consider backing India to put up a higher opening partnership than that of their opponents.
IRELAND BETTING ANALYSIS
Ireland have been dealt a very tough hand in their opening ICC T20 World Cup fixture, but beating Pakistan only last month at least gives them firm belief that they can cause an upset if their players all play to the best of their abilities on the day. Left-arm pacer Josh Little will be central to their hopes. The Irish quick boasts IPL experience and the sort of raw pace that could trouble India. Explore investing in Little to finish as Ireland’s top bowler in this encounter.
From a batting perspective, the big-hitting Paul Stirling could have a big role to play. Appointed captain last year, his experience and ability to clear boundary is vital to Ireland’s chances and Stirling is the ideal player to cash in across the powerplay. When taking this into account, it’s worth backing Stirling to score the most sixes for Ireland across the game.
One batter is poor form though heading into the tournament is Harry Tector. Dismissed for a single-figure score in each of Ireland’s last three completed T20i fixtures, momentum both good and bad can play a key role to an individual’s success, or failures across a World Cup. Those numbers suggests that a smart betting move is backing Tector to record a score of under 18.5 match runs.
INDIA VS IRELAND EXPERT PREDICTION
India will understandably enter this match as huge favourites and despite not playing a competitive game in this temporary stadium, the expectation is that batters should rule the roose. This bodes well for players such as captain Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and particularly Virat Kohli, to cash in as appropriate.
On the back of such an excellent individual IPL campaign, Kohli’s brilliance with the bat should see him get on top of the Irish bowlers regardless of whether India are setting or chasing a target. Another big T20 innings may well be on the cards for one of India’s ultimate aces with the tournament favourites surely proving too strong for Ireland here.
INDIA VS IRELAND TOP TIP: VIRAT KOHLI TO SCORE OVER 31.5 MATCH RUNS