After two convincing wins in the first two T20 Internationals, the Indian cricket team will be looking out for another victory when they will lock horns with Ireland in the final T20 International of the three-match series. The exciting game of cricket is all set to be played at The Village in Dublin on Wednesday.
The series is important for the Indian team to gain their confidence in the shortest format of the game. India suffered a defeat at the hands of the West Indies cricket team in their last T20I series by 2-3. Therefore, it is important for the team to do well against Ireland to gain back their confidence and gather some momentum ahead of the much-awaited Asia Cup 2023.
India has already clinched the series and now their eyes will be set on a series whitewash. Both the batters and bowlers have done equally well in the tour so far. As far as the Ireland cricket team is concerned, they have failed to make a mark in the league so far. The hosts will have to put up better performances in all three facets of the game be it batting, bowling, or fielding to ensure a win on Wednesday and avoid losing by 0-3.
What has happened so far?
Ireland has already lost the three-match T20I series by 0-2 and they now have only the last match to save their pride and avoid a clean sweep. The first T20 International saw the hosts scoring a defeat by two runs because of the D/L method. Batting in the first innings, Ireland smacked 139 runs in their allotted 20 overs.
Curtis Campher was the top performer with a knock of 39 runs while for India Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, and Ravi Bishnoi picked two wickets each. Batting in the second innings, India got off to a rough start as they lost their two players namely Yashsavi Jaiswal and Tilak Verma after they scored 24 and 0 runs respectively.
However, the team managed to score 47 runs in 6.5 overs and won because of the D/L method as rain interrupted play. Playing in the second match, Indian batters outshined with a score of 185 runs in the first innings.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson hammered 58 and 40 runs respectively. Chasing the score, Ireland collapsed at 152 runs despite the efforts of Andrew Balbirnie as again Bumrah, Krishna, and Bishnoi picked two wickets each while Arshdeep Singh scalped one wicket.
Head to Head Record
India has an edge over Ireland in the head-to-head record
So far in the history of the gentlemen’s game, the Indian cricket team has locked horns with the Ireland team a total of seven times. All seven games saw the domination of Men in Blue as they scored big wins.
Ireland will be eager to end the drought and score their first win against the Indian team on Wednesday during the last T20 International of the three-match series.
Key Players
Andrew Balbirnie (Ireland): For the Ireland cricket team, the opening batter Andrew Balbirnie was the player to watch out for. The 32-year-old was the lone warrior for the hosts when they were chasing 186 runs in the allotted 20 overs in the second T20 International.
Andrew smacked 72 runs off 51 balls with the help of five boundaries and four maximums at a strike rate of over 141. With 76 runs to his name from two games, he is also the top run-scorer for the visitors.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (India): The Indian cricket team is likely to have Ruturaj Gaikwad as their top performer on Wednesday. The Chennai Super Kings star is currently the top run-scorer in the three-match T20I series. He is topping the charts with a total of 77 runs to his name in two matches at an average of 77.
It was Gaikwad’s knock of 58 runs in the second T20 International that helped the Men in Blue in scoring 185 runs in the allotted 20 overs and score a win by 33 runs.
Predicted XIs
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah ©, Ravi Bishnoi
Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Stirling ©, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young, Joshua Little, Benjamin White
Prediction
The Indian cricket team is on a rampage against the Ireland cricket team as they are leading the three-match T20I series by 2-0. The first T20 International saw the Men in Blue scoring a win by two runs while in the second game, they outshined the hosts by 33 runs. They are now the favorites to score a win on Wednesday and ensure a whitewash.
Meanwhile, Ireland can give a good fight to the Indian team as the latter are not playing at their full strength.