The Twenty20 World Cup opened with a thrilling match between India and Ireland. Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl first, choosing four pacers and allrounder Hardik Pandya, along with left-arm spin allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Virat Kohli was partnered by Sharma to open the innings, while Yashasvi Jaiswal was omitted from the lineup. Rishabh Pant batted at number three for India.
Ireland’s lineup included three seamers and two spinners, with Paul Stirling as captain, Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, and Benjamin White.
The match took place at Nassau County Stadium in Bahamas where India had previously scored 182 runs against Bangladesh in a warmup game. The pitch seemed more favorable for batters compared to the one used in the match between South Africa and Sri Lanka on Monday. Although there was cloud cover overhead, there was no rain forecast for the game.
India’s lineup included Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav
