Key events
India captain Rohit Sharma’s reaction
[On his arm/shoulder] I’m okay, just a little sore.
[On the pitch] We didn’t know what it would be like. It was all about getting used to the conditions which is why we wanted to bowl first. I don’t think the wicket settled down when we batted. There was enough there for the bowlers. But all in all, to get two points is important. When there’s enough in the pitch you have to stick to your basics, think about bowling in Test match cricket and try to hit those lengths consistently.
[On the next game against Pakistan] I don’t know what to expect from the pitch. We’ll prepare as if conditions are going to be like that. We need to regroup and understand what we all need to do.
[On his fifty] It was scratchy but it’s good to spend some time in the middle. Hopefully we can play a similar brand of cricket against Pakistan – and get those two points as well.
Ireland captain Paul Stirling’s reaction
It was tough. The toss played a pretty crucial part, with overcast conditions at the start, and the pitch offered a lot of movement. India bowled terrific lengths and we weren’t quite up to that challenge.
We needed to put a bit of pressure back on the Indian bowlers but we kept losing wickets – everything we tried went up in the air. And they were outstanding.
We’ve got some big games coming up, and we’re back here on Friday, so any time in the middle is crucial. Now we can give it a good crack against Canada: it’s a must-win.
The player of the match is Jasprit Bumrah, the happiest genius in the world
When the ball is doing quite a bit and there is good bounce and pace, I will never complain!
In this format you have adapt to conditions as quickly as possible. We thought the new ball would do a lot. Once the seam goes down the wicket does settle down a little bit. Yes, there is some unbeven bounce but you have to be prepared to bowl in all conditions. Very happy with the outing we had today.
India’s victory was both comfortable and uncomfortable. The result was never in doubt after they ran through Ireland’s top order, but they didn’t enjoy batting on a pitch that was at best duplicitous and at worst dangerous. Rohit Sharma retired hurt after being hit on the shoulder and Rishabh Pant was whacked on the elbow, arm, chest and glove.
The ICC have a problem with this New York pitch, especially as India play Pakistan here on Sunday.
India win by eight wickets with 46 balls remaining
12.2 overs: India 97-2 (Pant 36, Dube 0) Rishabh Pant ends the match with a remarkable, fast-handed reverse lap for six off McCarthy. In the commentary box, Ricky Ponting and Steve Smith burst out laughing.
12th over: India 91-2 (Pant 30, Dube 0) Ben White bowls a couple of dot balls to Shivam Dube to keep India waiting.
WICKET! India 91-2 (Suryakumar c Dockrell b White 2)
Suryakumar tries to end the match with a six, and instantly regrets it. He slog-swept the legspinner Ben White high towards deep midwicket, where George Dockrell took a really good low catch.
11th over: India 85-1 (Pant 25, Suryakumar 1) Now Pant is hit on the elbow by Little, and there’s a short break in play while he receives treatment. This pitch is fast becoming a problem for the ICC.
Pant is hit twice more in Little’s final over, though he also nails a pull for six. Little ends with unjust figures of 4-0-42-0.
Have to do something about the pitches. Can’t imagine India vs Pakistan on this one.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 5, 2024
India 76-1 (Rohit Sharma retired hurt 52)
Rohit has walked off during the drinks break. The commentators think it’s to do with that blow on the arm from Josh Little. The ball actually deflected from the elbow onto the shoulder, and it’s the latter that seems to be troubling Rohit. He doesn’t seem in too much pain so it’s hopefully just a precaution.
Suryakumar Yadav is the new batter.
10th over: India 76-1 (Rohit 52, Pant 18) Pant shapes to room Adair and is beaten by a sharp bumper. Rohit pulls a full toss for four to reach a scruffy but important half-century from 36 balls. I doubt he’s ever had a higher false-stroke percentage in a T20 innings of 10 balls or more, but who cares. India need 21 to win.
“There is a thin line between aggression and insolence, right?” says Krishnamoorthy V. “The approach of mindless swinging (par for a T20) shows less intent and more disrespect for your opponent. Iga Switek showed more respect when she destroyed her opponent 6-0 6-0 three days ago at RG.”
Are you advocating a respectful innings to sit alongside Sunil Gavaskar’s 174-ball 36 in the first men’s World Cup?
9th over: India 64-1 (Rohit 42, Pant 17) Rohit tries to whip Little to leg, gets in a tangle and is hit on the arm. The ball loops to backward point and Ireland review, thinking it might have brushed the bat first. It didn’t.
For some reason Little then decides to drop short, to Rohit, twice. Six and six more.
8th over: India 52-1 (Rohit 30, Pant 17) Pant smears McCarthy down the ground for a four, a mistimed shot that had enough on it to reach the boundary. India are… not cruising to victory, but staggering to a comfortable victory.
“Have to say, I’m finding the Gillette Cup Final uploaded in Ireland’s tenth over the more compelling game,” says Pete Salmon. Don’t tell me who wins!”
7th over: India 43-1 (Rohit 28, Pant 10) Rohit, elegance incarnate, has been reduced to swinging like a hungover club player. He’s beaten twice by the new bowler Curtis Campher, who also goes past Pant’s outside edge. Ireland have been really unlucky with the ball.
6th over: India 39-1 (Rohit 27, Pant 7) Little slips a full delivery past Rohit’s big drive. India are still going hard, though they might be better served treating this as a deluxe net before the Pakistan game. It’s such an unusual pitch, certainly for T20 cricket, that any time in the middle is valuable.
Rohit steers Little expertly for four, then plays and misses for the umpteenth time. This is a really odd game.
5th over: India 33-1 (Rohit 22, Pant 6) Steve Smith, a good addition to the commentary team at this World Cup, politely describes the wicket as “challenging”.
Adair bowls another tight over, just three singles and a wide. Pant wafts and misses the final delivery.
4th over: India 29-1 (Rohit 20, Pant 5) Barry McCarthy replaces Josh Little and almos picks up Rohit, who drags a pull just short of Adair at mid-on. Rohit sets off for the single, almost on autopilot, and is miles short when Adair’s short bounces just past the stump.
“Pace, seam, spin, destructive hitters, accumulators, left/right combinations, experience plus youth, burning desire: they’ve got it all Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Whoever faces Scotland in the final will surely have their work cut out.”
Bob Monkhouse would be proud of that comic timing. Did I say Bob Monkhouse? Sorry, I meant George Munsey.
3rd over: India 26-1 (Rohit 18, Pant 4) Rishabh Pant walks in at No3 and carts his second ball back over the bowler’s head for four. The cricket world, the whole world, is a richer place when he’s involved in it.
WICKET! India 22-1 (Kohli c White b Adair 1)
Kohli, who faced only one ball in the first two overs, charges Adair and misses. Even on this dodgy pitch, India appear to have net run-rate in mind.
It’s really not easy out there, not even for Kohli. After another play and miss, he charges Adair a second time and slashes straight to third man. For a player of his class that’s a fairly ugly dismissal. LOOK WHAT T20 HAS DONE TO VIRAT.
2nd over: India 22-0 (Rohit 18, Kohli 1) The left-armer Josh Little immediately gets the ball to swing into the right-handers. Rohit digs out a fine yorker and then inside edges a wider yorker for four. That could easily have violated his furniture.
Little can’t always control the swing, though, and there are a couple of leg-side wides. A pretty good over for Ireland ends miserably when another attempted yorker is clubbed over long-on for six by Rohit.
1st over: India 7-0 (Rohit 6, Kohli 0) Rohit Sharma flails and misses at the first ball of the innings from Marc Adair, which is eventually called wide. There’s plenty of movement for Adair, as there was for India’s quicks. Rohit is beaten through the gate, inside edges past the stumps and outside edges through the hands of second slip for four runs. That was a chance for Balbirnie, albeit a very sharp one. I don’t know whether he got a touch on it; either way, it beat him for pace.
Nasty pitch. Vastly more experienced, better batsmen than those who played for Ireland would have struggled on this strip. 2 valuable points are at stake. India will look to actualise a win without struggle and pain
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) June 5, 2024
“True they’re playing against an exceptional Indian attack but the shot selection of Ireland’s batters left a lot to be desired,” writes Colum Fordham. “Delany played marvellously against Arshdeep but trying the second run was lunacy when 120 would have been possible. Irresponsibility was the thread running through the whole innings. Great to see Rishabh Pant back in the mix. There’ll be fireworks if he gets in, I suspect.”
I think that’s maybe a bit harsh. Playing against that attack on that pitch would scramble most brains, and I’d ascribe the poor shots/decisions to that rather than irresponsibility.
Something to read before the run-chase
India need 97 to win
Delany’s punchy unbeaten 26 from 16 balls made the score respectable. I know Ireland were bowled out in double figures, which is rarely respectable in a T20 international, but good luck playing India’s seamers on that pitch. The new ball did all sorts, as did the old ball when Bumrah was wielding it.
WICKET! Ireland 96 all out (White run out 3)
All over. After some fine blows from Delany off Arshdeep, including a six over square leg, White is run-out trying to ensure that Delany has strike for the next over.
15th over: Ireland 79-9 (Delany 11, White 1) Bumrah has typical T20 figures: 3-1-6-2. Imagine Bumrah and Joel Garner in a fantasy white-ball team, especially at the death.
WICKET! Ireland 77-9 (Little b Bumrah 14)
A defiant cameo from Josh Little is ended by the most emphatic yorker imaginable from Jasprit Bumrah. Joel Garner couldn’t have done it better.
14th over: Ireland 73-8 (Delany 10, Little 14) Ravindra Jadeja comes on for Axar Patel, which means all six of India’s main bowlers will have had at least one over.
Little reverse sweeps firmly for four to move into double figures, and a few singles make it another decent over for Ireland. It sounds daft but, for all their struggles, their score probably isn’t that far below par against India on this pitch.
13th over: Ireland 66-8 (Delany 9, Little 8) That’s what I’m talkin’ about! Delany hooks Pandya into the crowd for six – a top-edge sure, but let’s look in the book. Little slugs four more down the ground, and overall it’s Ireland’s best over of the innings: 14 from it.
“Two more wickets have fallen since I started typing so I best hurry up,” says James Butler. “Given every preview/podcast has droned on about the ‘huge’ Ireland/India expat community I’m surprised how many empty seats there appear to be…”
Who ya gonna believe? (It does look like it’s filling up a bit.)
12th over: Ireland 52-8 (Delany 2, Little 1) Delany survives a stumping referral after missing a slog-sweep.
We should remember that India can skittle any team in the world on better surfaces than this, as they did a few times during the 50-over World Cup. But it does feel like this pitch is sub-standard, and it must be a bit confusing for the new American fans who were promised sixes galore. Only two of the batters have scored six, never mind hit one.
“Having seen the Indian seam attack in action I can’t wait to see how good their fabled spinners are,” says Brian Withington. “Thank goodness they have no batting to speak of or we might conclude the tournament is over before it’s begun.”
WICKET! Ireland 50-8 (McCarthy ct and b Axar 0)
Even the spin is unplayable. Axar Patel, surprisingly introduced to the attack, strikes second ball. McCarthy spoons the ball whence it came and Axar moves smartly to his right to take a good return catch.
11th over: Ireland 49-7 (Delany 0, McCarthy 0) McCarthy survives the hat-trick ball, and the next five as well, though he was beaten by at least three of them. A wicket maiden from Hardik.
“New York is super muggy,” says Luke Dealtry. “Surely that’s encouraging all the swing? Or is it just a crummy pitch?”
Bit of both I think. The pitch would be perfect for the first morning of a Test, not so much for a T20. But India have been intimidatingly good.
WICKET! Ireland 49-7 (Adair c Dube b Hardik 3)
First ball after drinks, Adair cuts Hardik Pandya to deep point. Hardik is on a hat-trick!
10th over: Ireland 49-6 (Delany 0, Adair 3) Mark Adair, who smashed 88 in the Lord’s Test last summer, drags his first ball through midwicket for three. That’s drinks.
“Tector getting hand-rapped reminds me of the greatest finger-smashing of all time: John Dye v Barry Wood in 1976,” writes Marcus Abdullahi. “It is gruesome – and even worse than Gooch’s in the Caribbean.”
Blimey, I’ve never seen that before. Nor had I seen John Dye bowl; that’s one of the great run-ups.
WICKET! Ireland 46-6 (Dockrell c Bumrah b Siraj 3)
There’s no need for India to bowl spin until at least the 17th over as they have four seamers.
Spoiler alert: there won’t be a 17th over. After two missed chances off the first two balls of the over, Dockrell top-edges Siraj straight to mid-on. The end.
9th over: Ireland 44-5 (Dockrell 1, Delany 0)
WICKET! Ireland 44-5 (Campher c Pant b Pandya 12)
Campher launches Pandya over long-on for six, but Pandya lands he decisive blow with the last ball of the over. Campher gets a thin-edge through to Rishabh Pant and walks off, ending a briefly promising knock of 12 from 8 balls.
8th over: Ireland 36-4 (Campher 5, Dockrell 0) That was the last ball of the over.
WICKET! Ireland 36-4 (Tector c Kohli b Bumrah 2)
Majestic bowling from Bumrah. He bounces out Harry Tector with a horrible delivery that hits glove and then helmet before looping to cover. Tector, who tried to hook, was wringing his hand in pain before the catch was taken. He struggled throughout, making 4 from 16 balls.
7th over: Ireland 32-3 (Tector 1, Campher 4) Curtis Campher flicks his first ball behind square for four, an excellent shot.
WICKET! Ireland 28-3 (Tucker b Hardik 10)
Hardik Pandya strikes with his fifth ball, a superb nipbacker that beats Tucker’s pretty drive and knocks back the middle stump. India’s quicks are just too good, certainly on this pitch.
6th over: Ireland 26-2 (Tucker 9, Tector 1) Apparently life wasn’t tough enough for the Ireland batters, because here comes Jasprit Bumrah. He starts with a maiden to Tector, including one vicious delivery that rips past the outside edge.
At the end of the over Tector, who was hit on the glove twice by Arshdeep, wolfs down some painkillers.
5th over: Ireland 26-2 (Tucker 9, Tector 1) Tector is hit twice on the glove by nasty deliveries from Arshdeep, who also fires four wides down the leg side. This pitch isn’t fit for purpose, not if that purpose is capturing the American market.
A peculiar 10-ball over from Arshdeep includes three more wides, an inswinger that Tector thick-edges for a single, a seaming lifter that beats Tucker and finally a poor ball that Tucker flat-bats to the cover boundary.
Isn’t there a whole chapter in Netherland the book about how bad pitches are in New York?
Man did not lie.
— Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber) June 5, 2024
4th over: Ireland 13-2 (Tucker 5, Tector 0) Tucker is beaten by consecutive jaffas from Siraj that rip off the seam. This is a very lively pitch, same as for the Sri Lanka v South Africa game, and we’re currently watching Test cricket in coloured clothing.
Tucker premeditates a ramp for four, a risky but well played shot, and then plays and misses for the third time in the over. That time he was beaten by the bounce rather than seam movement.
3rd over: Ireland 9-2 (Tucker 1, Tector 0) Ricky Ponting, commentating on the game, thinks batting will be toughest against the new ball and that Ireland need to play accordingly. It is doing all sorts.
WICKET! Ireland 9-2 (Balbirnie b Arshdeep 5)
Two in the over for Arshdeep Singh! Balbirnie, who was really struggling with the lateral movement, plays down the wrong line and is cleaned up. He was trying to open the face to work it to third man, but he was nowhere near it. The shot of a man with a scrambled brain.
WICKET! Ireland 7-1 (Stirling c Pant b Arshdeep 2)
Paul Stirling slogs Arshdeep miles in the air and is well taken by Pant, running back towards the boundary. That’s an excellent early wicket for India; on his day, Stirling can pummel any attack.
2nd over: Ireland 7-0 (Balbirnie 5, Stirling 2) Mohammad Siraj’s first over is even livelier. Balbirnie is beaten by three deliveries in a row, the last of which explodes from a length and is brilliantly stopped by Rishabh Pant. Balbirnie gets a boundary when Siraj strays onto the pads.
1st over: Ireland 3-0 (Balbirnie 1, Stirling 2) Stirling walks down the track to time his first ball through the covers for … two. That would have been four on most grounds.
There’s a bit of swing for Arshdeep, who beats Stirling with a ball that keeps a bit low. Stirling’s second and third attempts to walk down the track are less successful; Arshdeep cramps him for room with one delivery and then zips a bouncer past his noggin. A really good start.
Here we go. The left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh will open the bowling to Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling.
It’s overcast in New York and the pitch has a few green patches, so this looks like a really good toss for India to win – especially as they have four seamers including Hardik Pandya.
The teams
India have left out Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal. That means Virat Kohli will open with Rohit Sharma.
No surprise in the Ireland side.
India Rohit (c), Kohli, Suryakumar, Dube, Pant (wk), Hardik, Jadeja, Axar, Bumrah, Arshdeep, Siraj.
Ireland Stirling (c), Balbirnie, Tucker (wk), Tector, Campher, Dockrell, Delany, Adair, McCarthy, Little, White.
India win the toss and bowl
The match referee David Boon originally said that Ireland had won the toss, but it was a genuine mix-up on his part. Paul Stirling called heads, the coin landed tails-up.
“We’re not too sure about the conditions,” says the India captain Rohit Sharma, “so having a score in front of us will be ideal.”
Stirling says Ireland would also have bowled.
“I recently learned that the expression ‘winging it’ refers to under-rehearsed actors rushing into the wings for a butcher’s at a well-thumbed prompt book (the source of all the Shakespeare plays we have) for their next few lines,” writes Gary Naylor. “Those 17th-century prompt books are 21st century iPads in the hands of analysts and powered by AI aren’t they?
“‘Old fashions please me best; I am not so nice
To change true rules for odd inventions.’”
Every industry has its chancers – you’re reading one of them – but my instinct is that the best cricket analysts are worth their weight in World Cups. I’m not sure England would have won in 2019 without Nathan Leamon.
Lads lads lads lads lads
Andy Bull + cricket = the healthy kind of clickbait
The weather forecast
It’s okay. Overcast, but okay. Whoever wins the toss will have a tricky decision. Actually, that’s nonsense – both captains have a tricky decision because they have to work on the assumption they’ll win it, otherwise they’d be winging it, and that’s no way to achieve success in modern society. I suspect whoever wins it will bowl first, but with the nagging feeling that chasing 140 could be slippery.
Preamble
Good day one and all. We can all surely agree that, in the last decade or so, the world has taken a very weird turn. In centuries to come, if there are centuries to come, when historians reflect on the years 2014-23, the thing that will cause the most head-scratching is painfully obvious: that India didn’t win a major ICC competition in that time. When you consider their power and their population, their brilliance and their Bumrah, it’s almost unfathomable that the 2013 Champions Trophy was their last major honour.
India’s latest attempt to rule world cricket on the field begins with a match against Ireland in New York. The pitch for the first game here, between Sri Lanka and South Africa, was unusual and awkward, so it would be unwise to make too many predictions. Except maybe a Virat Kohli fifty; that’s usually a safe bet. At the age of 35 he has found another level as a T20 batter, which is a chilling thought for everyone else.
As well as Kohli, India have Rohit Sharma, four brilliant spinners, the advantage of knowing where they will play their semi-final (Guyana, often spin-friendly). They have Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s No1 T20 batter in Suryakumar Yadav, a fit-again Rishabh Pant, and yes I really could go on.
In short, India have all the tools to win the competition. But having the tools has never been the problem.
Play starts at 3.30pm BST, 10.30am in New York
