Ireland vs India: India to start the series with a win

India will get the T20 series underway against Ireland at The Village. Will the hosts put some competition against the mighty Indians or will the visitors will come away with a victory?

Ireland has been on a roll recently with winning the world cup qualifiers and winning the series against West Indies. Andy Balbirnie has been an integral part of the team and has 1429 runs in 67 matches to his name. he along with Andy McBrine will be the key men for Ireland if they need to do well in this game and tournament. Ireland will be preparing and streamlining its lineup for the world cup which will be held in October. 

Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Curtis Campher

India has come back strongly after losing the first two games of the series at home against South Africa but the final match got washed out in Bangalore. Now they move to a new location and prepare for a Test series against England, they will face a new challenge against Ireland in Britain. Hardik Pandya will be the captain for the series after leading his franchise Gujarat Titans with a maiden win in IPL. Sanju Samson can be given a chance and he has a lot to prove at the national level. The youngsters will be looking to make their mark on the national side. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson/Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh

The pitch will play like a traditional English pitch with lots of assistance from the pacers. The pitch has been also assisting the batters of late. 150 will be a par score on this pitch. We are expecting India to come away with a victory. 

• W2 After First 1 Overs for 1.95;
• Team 2, Total Fours Over 14.5 for 1.82;
• Top Batsman Team 1 - Paul Stirling for 3.44