After a disappointing T20I series loss against West Indies, India will look to bounce back as they take on Ireland in a three-match T20I series, starting with the first match in Dublin on Friday.
India are heading into this series with a completely different squad than that in the West Indies. This tour also marks the return of India's ace pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, from injury, and he has been tasked with leading the squad. This is a new-look squad where IPL stars like Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma have been rewarded with opportunities.
Shivam Dube has also earned a recall after an impressive showing in the last two IPL seasons. In contrast, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma are expected to shine again after their impressive debut in the Caribbean. Prasidh Krishna, another pacer, who had been injured for a long time, will be making his return as well.
As far as Ireland go, they will be playing with a full-strength squad led by Paul Stirling. They have other experienced members like Andrew Balbirnie and George Dockrell in the setup. Plus, youngsters like Harry Tector, Joshua Little, and Curtis Campher add to the flair of the squad. Ireland delivered a competitive performance the last time they took on India in T20Is. They will be eager to do the same as they gear up to take them on in this three-match series.
Probable Playing XIs
Ireland: Paul Stirling(C), Gareth Delany, Andrew Balbirnie, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Benjamin White, Joshua Little, Barry McCarthy
India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah (C), Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh
Key Players
Harry Tector: The young middle-order batter enjoyed an excellent outing against India the last time these two teams met. Tector amassed 103 runs against India in that two-match series, including a best of 68*, and he recorded a strike rate of 168.85 across those two games.
Tilak Varma: He was impressive in his debut series in the Caribbean a week back, and he will be looking to carry that form forward into this tour. Varma amassed 173 runs in the five T20Is against West Indies, averaging 57.66 runs per innings and going at a strike rate of 140.65.
Match Prediction
Ireland are a talented side, and they will deploy their full-strength XI in this match. They have also enjoyed good form of late. India are playing with a relatively inexperienced squad, but the flat nature of the decks in Ireland will help these young batters. Even though they are inexperienced, the players' familiarity with the pressure they get to play under in the IPL could help them overcome the Irish challenge. India will start as slight favourites to win this contest.