Ireland vs India T20Is: Tournament Preview
India will hope to deliver a dominant performance as they face Ireland in a two-match T20 series in Dublin. With the 2019 ICC World Cup less than a year away, this tour of UK will be a valuable experience for this squad. Further, these two T20Is will give the perfect platform to prepare for England. Here is our tournament preview.
India eye 5th consecutive T20I series triumph
Virat Kohli and Co. are heading into the Ireland T20 series on the back on four consecutive T20I series triumphs- the last being the Nidahas trophy in Sri Lanka. The men in blue have brushed aside the likes of South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the recent past. They will be looking to make it 5 straight wins.
1st T20I against Ireland will be India's 100th T20I
The first T20I on June 27 will be a landmark fixture for Kohli and his boys as they would be playing the nation's 100th T20I. India made their debut in the format back in 2005/06 and were the last full member to play the shortest format. Since then, India have consistently dominated the shortest format and are among the top teams in the rankings.
Ireland whitewash will not affect T20I rankings
India are currently the number three ranked T20 side in the world with 123 rating points. However, even if India beat Ireland in the two-match T20I series, they will hardly gain anything in the ICC T20 rankings. Ireland sit on 17th spot and India will not gain even a single rating point even in case of a series whitewash.
India and Ireland have met only once before
This will be the second meeting between the two sides with India winning the previous encounter in 2009 WT20 by 15 runs. Ireland have a dreadful record, especially at home. Since 2015, out of 9 T20Is they have played in their backyard, they have won just one, against Nepal in 2015. They have lost 6 matches and 2 didn't produce a result.
Kohli is short of 17 to reach 2,000-run mark
Skipper Virat Kohli is just shy of 17 runs to reach the 2,000-run landmark in T20Is. Virat Kohli will become the third player to achieve this remarkable feat after New Zealand duo Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum. Virat will be the only cricketer to reach the landmark with a 50+ average.
Ireland: Probable Playing XI
Paul Stirling, James Shannon, William Porterfield, Andy Balbirnie, Simranjit Singh, Gary Wilson (Captain), Kevin O'Brien, Stuart Poynter (wicket-keeper), George Dockrell, Stuart Thompson and Boyd Rankin.
India: Probable Playing XI
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
