Skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front with a quick 52 off 37 balls, with 4 fours and 3 sixes, as India comfortably defeated Ireland by 8 wickets in their T20 World Cup group fixture at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, yesterday.

India, chasing a target of 97, reached the goal with 46 balls to spare. Rohit retired hurt after reaching his fifty, also surpassing 4000 T20 International runs. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant remained unbeaten on 36 off 26 balls, hitting 3 fours and 2 sixes, sealing India’s first win of the World Cup. Pant also crossed the milestone of 1000 T20I runs. Paceman Jasprit Bumrah, who bowled an economical spell of 2 for 6 in 3 overs, was named Man of the Match.

Earlier, Ireland, invited to bat first, struggled from the start and repeated the same mistakes as Sri Lanka in their game against South Africa. They attempted big shots and lost wickets in quick succession. The Irish top order crumbled to 49 for 6 after ten overs.

Paceman Arshdeep Singh took the first two wickets of openers skipper Paul Stirling (2) and Andy Balbirnie (5) in the third over, significantly impacting the Irish batting lineup. They managed only 26 runs in the first powerplay.

Gareth Delany, batting at number seven, top-scored with 26 runs off 14 balls, including 2 fours and 2 sixes. Paceman Josh Little added 14 off 13 balls with 2 fours, helping Ireland reach 96 all out with four overs to spare.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 27. Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah claimed two wickets each, while spinners Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja bowled only two overs each.

Today (6th), Papua New Guinea will face Uganda at Providence, while Australia will play Oman in Bridgetown. The main attraction will be the USA playing against Pakistan in Dallas, starting at 9 PM (Sri Lanka time).

Chief scores

Ireland 96 all out in 16 overs (Lorcan Tucker 10, Curtis Campher 12, Gareth Delany 26, Josh Little 14, Arshdeep Singh 2/35, Mohammed Siraj 1/13, Jasprit Bumrah 2/6, Hardik Pandya 3/27, Axer Patel 1/3)

India 97 for 2 wickets in 12.2 overs (Rohit Sharma 52 [retired hurt], Virat Kohli 1, Rishabh Pant 36*, Mark Adair 1/ 27 , Ben White 1/6 (D.R.)