T20 WC, England vs Ireland: Joss Buttler elects to field
What's the story
England and Ireland are set to square off in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
The Three Lions defeated Afghanistan by five wickets in their opener and would be raring to get another win.
On the other hand, Ireland lost their first Super 12 match against Sri Lanka by nine wickets.
England skipper Jos Buttler has won the toss and elected to field.
Teams
A look at the two teams
Ireland (Playing XI): Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Lorcan Tucker (wicket-keeper), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little.
England (Playing XI): Jos Buttler (captain, wicket-keeper), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
Details
Pitch report, timing, and streaming details
The Melbourne Cricket Ground will host this duel on Wednesday (October 26).
19 T20Is have been played at this venue, with the average first-innings score being 140.
The previous contest at this venue saw India chase down 160 against Pakistan.
The match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed (9:30 AM IST) on Hotstar (paid subscription).
Information
Here's the head-to-head record
The two sides have met only once in T20Is before, back in 2010, and the game got washed out due to rain. Notably, Ireland dominated the proceedings in that contest, having restricted England to 120/8 in their 20 overs.
Performers
Who are the key performers?
Dawid Malan (471) and Moeen Ali (466) have been among runs in T20Is in 2022.
Speed merchant Mark Wood has claimed 11 wickets in four T20Is this year (Economy rate: 6.31).
Joshua Little's tally of 32 T20I wickets is the third highest for a bowler in 2022.
Curtis Campher is the only all-rounder to scalp a hat-trick and score a half-century in T20 WC.