NDIA IRELAND REVIEW

What

The 22^nd ODI of the 2011 ICC World Cup will be played between India and Ireland. The match is a Day/Night affair.

When

March 06, 2011. The game begins at 2:30 pm, IST.

Where

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.  Both sides have been involved in a couple of exciting matches in the past week at this venue. First India forced a tied result against England, both teams finishing level at 338 on February 27. Then, on March 2, Ireland bettered England’s score of 327 in a thrilling run chase. In both games, the match aggregate was over 650 runs highlighting the flat nature of the Chinnaswamy track. 

The Teams

India will be disappointed not to have closed the game out against England despite having scored a mammoth 338 runs. But the fact that they were able to tie the game when England needed just 59 off the last eight overs with eight wickets in hand says something about the positive mentality of this Indian side.  

The Indians are hard pressed to get their bowling combination right ahead of this game. S Sreesanth went for 53 off his five overs against Bangladesh when India played three pacers and one spinner. Against England, in their subsequent game, Sreesanth made way for Piyush Chawla. But that change didn’t work either as Chawla went for 71 runs in his 10 overs. With the wicket at Bengaluru favouring the batsmen, India might look to play the extra specialist bowler. This could only mean that either Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh or Yusuf Pathan will sit this one out.  

Ireland will be raring to go after their success against England. Their best chance of winning (should India bat first) is if they keep the Indians to under 275 and then fashion a successful run chase with strong middle-order performances.

If Ireland bat first, Niall O’Brien, Ed Joyce and Kevin O’Brien, are well equipped to counter the challenge posed by the Indian bowlers. If one of them bats big and gets Ireland to a competitive total, India might feel the pressure under lights at the Chinnaswamy.

Players to watch out for

Virender Sehwag is the leading run-scorer for India at this World Cup. With 210 runs to his credit, which includes a blazing 175 against Bangladesh, Ireland would want to get rid of the Nawab of Najafagrh early. But if Sehwag can keep his promise of batting the full 50 overs, India should win comfortably.

Kevin O’Brien has already established himself as one of the big stars of the tournament having hit the fastest 100 (in just 50 balls) in World Cup competitions against England. His big hitting on that night, reminiscent of a certain Kieron Pollard, coupled with good technique, makes him a key player in the Group B clash.

The squads

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c & wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Piyush Chawla, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth and R Ashwin.

Ireland: William Porterfield (c), Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Niall O’Brien (wk), Gary Wilson, Kevin O’Brien, Alex Cusack, John Mooney, Trent Johnston, George Dockrell,  Boyd Rankin, Nigel Jones, Albert van der Merwe, Andrew White and Andre Botha.