India defeated Ireland in their first match of the ICC Men’s T20 world cup at Eisenhower Park in New York.
Ireland struggled on the bowler friendly pitch, and were on the verge of the lowest total of the tournament thus far, when they were reeling at 50 for 8. Gareth Delany gave some late order impetus, scoring 26 from 14 balls. Hardik Pandya grabbed 3 for 27 and Jasprit Bumrah 2 for 6, as the Irish were dismissed for 96 in 16 overs.
India had a safe approach to the new surface and their chase in New York. Ireland got a small gift when Virat Kholi was dismissed for 1. However, Rohit Sharma, although hurt from a bouncer, battled to 52 before retiring hurt. India eventually got over the line at 97 for 2 in 12.2 overs, winning by 8 wickets.
Two other games are on tonight, Papua New Guinea vs Uganda at 7:30pm in Guyana while Australia take on Oman at 8:30pm in Barbados.