That’s it from us tonight. Join us for more live coverage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as India take on Pakistan at the same venue on June 9. See you then!

India and Rohit Sharma couldn’t have asked for a more perfect start to their 2024 campaign.

The captain getting good runs, the bowlers impressing on a difficult pitch and despite a few knocks and bruises for the batters, it was an all-round performance for India against an Irish team that is known for its giant-killing nature.

However, lots of criticism and uncertainty around the New York pitch continues to float around and after two matches with scores of below 100 being posted, it will be curious to see what is prepared for the next game.

“[On him retiring hurt] Just a little sore on the arm. [What’s the pitch assessment] I said it at the toss as well, there was enough there for the bowlers. But I don’t think the pitch settled down when we batted second. Have to stick to your basics like Test match bowling, which all these guys have played. Arshdeep, the only one who hasn’t, his two wickets upfront set the tone for us. Don’t think we can play four spinners here though. But when we picked the team, we wanted to have the balance [for all kinds of pitches]. The spinnesr will play their part later in the tournament. [For the Pakistan game] We will prepare as if the conditions are like what was there for today’s game. It will likely be a game where all eleven of us will have to contribute. [On his knock] It was scratchy, but good for me to spend time in the middle and understand how to play here.”

— India captain Rohit Sharma

“Coming from India and the ball is seaming around with some bounce and pace, I would not complain as long as there’s help for bowlers. In this format, you have to be proactive and you can’t preempt things. I’ve been trying to stick to the plans and trying to go back to what works for me. You have to be prepared to bowl in all conditions so I’m very happy with the outing today.”

— Player of the match Jasprit Bumrah

IND 76/1 in 10 overs: What an audacious shot from Rishabh Pant there! Even the bowler McCarthy has a defeated smile as Pant reverse scoops it for six to reach the target with 46 balls remaining. Pant finishes with an unbeaten 36 off 26 balls after a few bumps and bruises and India begin their campaign with an eight-wicket win over Ireland.

IND 91/2 in 11.4 overs: WICKET! Suryakumar Yadav tries to get this done in one ball and top-edges it high up in the air to George Dockrell who takes it with safe hands. Suryakumar Yadav 2 (3b) c George Dockrell b Ben White

Right after reaching his half-century, Rohit walks off the pitch and has retired hurt. It’s possibly to do with the final ball of the previous over as Adair hits him very near the elbow and then the shoulder. Suryakumar Yadav walks out to bat.

IND 76/1 in 10 overs: Rohit clearly moving things along quickly with two consecutive sixes off Little and a boundary to reach his half-century off 36 balls. A few of those pull shots have plugged in the outfield, otherwise the India captain may have reached his half-century a couple balls earlier. India need 21 off 60 balls

IND 52/1 in 8 overs: Pant gets a little working over by Campher, but gets a boundary off McCarthy as India do just enough to keep the chase on track. India need 45 off 72 balls

IND 39/1 in 6 overs: Rohit looks quite comfortable while Pant is looking to cut loose and send a few balls over the boundary. Little and Adair both have been good in extracting the swing and pace from the pitch, but nothing besides the wicket of Kohli. India need 58 off 84 balls

IND 29/1 in 4 overs: Rishabh Pant comes out at no 3, an interesting choice but one probably made since the target is small. There’s a chance of a run-out as Mark Adair gets in a brilliant throw, but misses the stumps and Rohit would have been out as the replay shows the Indian captain well out of his crease there. India need 68 off 96 balls

IND 22/1 in 2.4 overs: WICKET! Adair bangs it in on a good enough length and what does Kohli in is his pre-meditation as he gets a thick top-edge and Ben White near the boundary takes a simple catch. Virat Kohli 1 (5b) c Ben White b Mark Adair

IND 22/0 in 2 overs: Balbirnie will rue dropping Rohit Sharma at slip off Mark Adair as the Indian captain smacks a beautiful six over the long-on boundary. Josh Little, the other new-ball bowler has been relatively expensive with a few wides in his first over. India need 75 off 108 balls

The Indian openers will be Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma while Mark Adair will open the bowling for Ireland.

Lots of good signs there for the Indian bowlers with Pant looking extremely comfortable behind the stumps in his first interntional outing while Hardik Pandya led the way with figures of 3/27. The early work was done by Arshdeep at the start during the powerplay while Bumrah was his usual self right from the top.

The spinners didn’t get a good enough look in at the pitch, but Axar will be happy with his wicket.

The chase will be interesting to see how the Indian batters navigate the tricky pitch and if the Irish bowlers can get the same kind of pace and swing that was on display in the first innings.

IRE 97 all out in 16 overs: WICKET! And that’s the end of the Ireland innings. A free-hit to close out the end of Arshdeep’s over and there’s a bit of a mix-up between White and Delany who are undecided on the second run. Both batters are stranded in the middle as Pant breaks the stumps with ease. Gareth Delany 26 (14b) run out Siraj/Pant

IRE 77/9 in 14.2 overs: WICKET! And through the gate for Little who has no answer to the classic Bumrah yorker. Josh Little 14 (13b) b Bumrah

IRE 73/8 in 14 overs: Josh Little and Gareth Delany have managed to stop the fall of wickets with a few solid shots off the spinners, including a nice reverse sweep.

IRE 50/8 in 11.2 overs: WICKET! That’s a brilliant caught and bowled effort from Axar Patel who goes to his non-dominant side to take the catch. Barry McCarthy 0 (6b) c & b Axar Patel

IRE 49/7 in 10.1 overs: WICKET! It’s all crumbling now for Ireland as Mark Adair tries to manufacture a shot out of nothing and Shivam Dube is a safe pair of hands. Mark Adair 3 (2b) c Shivam Dube b Pandya

IRE 49/6 in 10 overs: WICKET! Not really sure what Dockrell was thinking there to be honest. The pace of Siraj proves too much for the all-rounder who top-edges it straight into Bumrah’s hands. George Dockrell 3 (5b) c Bumrah b Mohammed Siraj

IRE 44/5 in 9 overs: WICKET! This is going from bad to worse for Ireland here. Campher who has gotten the only six of the match so far just gets a soft edge to Pant and walks off before the umpire makes their decision. Curtis Campher 12 (8b) c Pant b Pandya

IRE 36/4 in 8 overs: WICKET! Bumrah smacks Tector on the hand, hits his helmet on the way up and Kohli takes an easy catch. Tector shakes his hand as he walks off and it’s been bandaged. Harry Tector 4 (16b) c Virat Kohli b Jasprit Bumrah

IRE 28/3 in 6.5 overs: WICKET! Hardik Pandya gets one for himself. Tucker is all tucked up by Pandya’s pace who bowls him and Ireland are struggling here. Lorcan Tucker 10 (13b) b Hardik Pandya

IRE 26/2 in 6 overs: Bumrah into the attack and bowls a brilliant first over that sees Tector being beaten one too many times.

IRE 13/2 in 4 overs: A pre-meditated scoop over Pant that works for Harry Tector who uses the pace of Siraj to get the ball to the boundary for a much-needed four.

IRE 9/2 in 3 overs: WICKET! Balbirnie was worked over and worked over and finally Arshdeep gets one through to dismantle his stumps. Ireland in a spot of bother here. Andy Balbirnie 5 (10b) b Arshdeep

IRE 7/1 in 2.1 overs: WICKET! A good length ball from Arshdeep that Stirling tries to pull and it’s caught by Pant as the sun starts to break through the clouds. India get their first breakthrough! Paul Stirling 2 (6b) c Rishabh Pant b Arshdeep Singh

IRE 7/0 in 2 overs: Good bit of swing and pace from both Arshdeep and Mohammed Siraj. Rishabh Pant has only missed one wide ball from Siraj that ran away for a boundary.

Andrew Balbirnie and Ireland captain Paul Stirling will open the batting with Arshdeep Singh taking the new ball for India.

The weather is looking a tad cloudy and this may end up favouring the tall Irish fast bowlers. But Bumrah and Siraj may also be intrigued at what the drop-in pitch offers them.

Keep in mind, India played their warm-up match here against Bangladesh where they won by 60 runs after restricting Bangladesh to 122/9 in the chase of 183.

Courtesy: Disney+ Hotstar
Courtesy: Disney+ Hotstar

Toss: India have won the toss and decided to bowl first

Team news: India will be going with four fast bowlers, including Hardik Pandya while the spin options will be all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. So, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson and Kuldeep Yadav miss out.

Hello and welcome to Scroll’s coverage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup!

The Indian men’s team will be kicking off their campaign at the 2024 edition with an exciting match up against Ireland in Group A at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

This will be the second match at the newly constructed stadium which will host six more fixtures, including the marquee India vs Pakistan clash on June 9.

What will be in store for the likes of the Indian spinners and the Irish batters? Well, if the first match at this venue is anything to go by, the pitch will assist the bowlers more significantly that any T20 viewer has observed over the last couple of months in the Indian Premier League.

Sri Lanka were bowled out for 77, their lowest T20I score, by South Africa who then chased down the target with 3.4 overs to spare, winning by six wickets. While the batters struggled to hit any noteworthy shots, the outfield made it difficult for boundaries to be scored and the overall quality of the pitch has been called into question.

In the format, the Indian dominance has been clear with the 2007 champion winning all seven of their completed Twenty20 Internationals against Ireland, the last coming in August 2023 where Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a half-century along with a handy knock of 40 from Sanju Samson.

Squads

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young