Ireland vs India, 2nd T20I: Hardik Pandya elects to bat
Ireland and India lock horns in the second and final T20I at The Village, Dublin. The tourists won the series opener by seven wickets in what was a rain-curtailed affair. Meanwhile, the Andrew Balbirnie-led side would hope to restore parity and finish on a high. The news from the center is that Indian skipper Hardik Pandya has won the toss and elected to bat.
Here are the two teams
Ireland (Playing XI): Paul Stirling, AndrewBalbirnie (captain), GarethDelany, HarryTector,Lorcan Tucker (wicket-keeper), GeorgeDockrell, Mark Adair, AndyMcBrine, Craig Young, Joshua Little, ConorOlphert. India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (captain), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Umran Malik.
India make three changes in the XI
Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad is sitting out due to a niggle, with top-order batter Sanju Samson replacing him. Pace spearhead Harshal Patel replaces Avesh Khan, while Yuzvendra Chahal makes way for Ravi Bishnoi. On the other hand, Ireland are playing the same side.
Pitch report, timing, and TV listing
The Village in Dublin is hosting this affair. The match will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network (9:00 PM IST) and live-streamed on the Sony LIV app. Chasing sides have won nine of the 15 T20Is played here. Anything around 150-160 could be a par total. Pacers can be backed to be influential. Rain could play spoilsport in the midway and later stages.
India would want to keep their unbeaten streak alive
India enjoy a 4-0 win-loss record against Ireland in T20 Internationals. The Men in Blue had chronicled a 2-0 series in Ireland during the tour of 2018. Their maiden encounter was during the 2009 T20 World Cup in Trent Bridge.
All eyes will be on Harry Tector
Although Ireland lost the opening match, youngster Harry Tector grabbed eyeballs with his scintillating knock. The right-handed batter slammed an unbeaten 64 off 33 balls (6 fours and 3 sixes). As per Opta, this is the highest score by any Ireland batter against India in the shortest format. After the match, Indian captain Pandya lavished praise on the 22-year-old.
