T20 World Cup 2024: 5 Takeaways From The India vs Ireland Match

It is a joyous moment for all the Indian cricket fans as the Men in Blue have kickstarted their ICC T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in an emphatic manner having registered a pretty convincing 8-wicket victory over Ireland on Wednesday at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. On the back of an impressive performance both in the batting as well as bowling departments, India picked up their first win in this mega event. It was also an important victory for the Rohit Sharma-led side ahead of the big-ticket India vs Pakistan match scheduled to begin on 9 June, 2024 at the very same venue. In this article, we take a look at the five takeaway moments from the India vs Ireland match played on Wednesday. 

T20 World Cup 2024: 5 Takeaways from the India vs Ireland Match

1. Arshdeep Singh's fine opening spell

Ahead of the first match against Ireland, there was a lot of talk about India's pace bowling attack as everyone expected that they will play one of Arshdeep Singh or Mohammed Siraj in the playing XI alongside pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. However, with the conditions at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York assisting the fast bowlers to a great extent, the trio of Arshdeep, Bumrah and Siraj were included in the India playing 11 during their first match of the T20 World Cup 2024. After putting Ireland to bat first, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh bowled a fine opening spell as he dismissed both their openers, Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie in a single over. 

2. Hardik Pandya takes three wickets in the middle-overs

India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya faced a lot of criticism during the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) season which also reflected on his performance as he failed miserably both with the bat and ball. He failed to score even a single half-century in the IPL 2024 as the Pandya-led Mumbai Indians finished with the wooden spoon. However, he has made a phenomenal return to international cricket having bowled really well in the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup match against Ireland. Hardik picked up three vital wickets in the middle-overs stage to derail the opposition. 

3. Rohit Sharma scores a crucial half-century

Indian captain Rohit Sharma has not had the best of performances in the past few editions of the T20 World Cup especially during the important games and he definitely has a point to prove in this mega event. He failed to convert his start into a big innings during the warm-up match against Bangladesh. However, Rohit looked in an impressive form in the first match against Ireland. In some challenging conditions for the batters at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, Rohit went on to notch up a fantastic innings of 52 runs off only 37 deliveries that consisted as many as 4 fours and 3 sixes. The Indian team management will be feeling very much relieved after the skipper getting some runs ahead of the India Pakistan match starting on Sunday. 

4. Jasprit Bumrah's economical bowling spell

India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah once again looked at the top of his game in the recently concluded match against Ireland on Wednesday. He also bowled well for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024 where he finished as the third highest wicket-taker with a total of 20 wickets from as many as 13 games. Bumrah continued his superb bowling form in the T20 World Cup as well, taking down the Irish team. The right-arm speedster took two wickets and conceded just 6 runs in his three overs which included a maiden as well. Jasprit Bumrah was also named as the Player of the Match for his excellent bowling performance. 

5. New York stadium's pitch once again comes under the scanner

The pitch, outfield and the conditions at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York has faced a lot of criticism in this opening round of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Many of the cricket experts have went viral on the different cricket news platforms, saying that the ground and pitch is not favourable to play any format of the game. Many of the India as well as Ireland batters were hit on the body during the match on Wednesday. There is surely a lot of help for the fast bowlers as seen in the matches between Sri Lanka-South Africa and India-Ireland. The conditions are very much challenging for the batters especially after being put to bat first.