India looks to hand Ireland first defeat
India and Ireland have both qualified for the Super Eights and their groups are decided so in terms of progression in this tournament nothing rides on this match. But India won't want to go to the next round with a shock defeat, nor will Ireland want to go without a fight after beating Bangladesh - which, by the way, they didn't consider an upset. At any rate they are yet to lose a Twenty20 international from the five they have played.
India goes into the tougher Super Eights group and will look at this game as a chance to iron out any flaws they feel exist. As it is they will probably be the least tested team in the Super Eights, with Bangladesh the third team in the weak Group A. India have been hurt by Virender Sehwag's return home with injury and will need to put that aside immediately.
Form guide
(Last five matches, most recent first)
India
Their new opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir has put on 42 and 140 in the warm-up games, and 59 against Bangladesh. With Sehwag ruled out of the tournament, their success at the top is a big positive.
Ireland
Three of those wins for Ireland have come against Associate nations, and the 138 they chased against Bangladesh is their highest score by a long way in Twenty20 internationals.
Watch out on...
Pragyan Ojha, who made an impact with the first ball he bowled in Twenty20 internationals. Bangladesh had been going on well in their chase when MS Dhoni introduced him in the ninth over. He took out Shakib Al Hasan and Junaid Siddique in his first over. But how long can India keep playing two spinners? And when they do go for just one, will Ojha have done enough to cause a Harbhajan Singh v Ojha debate? Problems of plenty? You bet.
Keep an eye out for the O'Brien brothers. The symbolic image of Ireland's chase against Bangladesh could be the ring-side interview of Niall O'Brien, who scored 40 off 25 balls to set Ireland on their way. A mini-collapse later, though, Ireland was facing a nervous final few over when Niall O'Brien was asked if he thought his team could do it. He said something to the effect of: as long as my brother [Kevin] is there, we will do it. Sure enough Kevin O'Brien brought out the big hits, scoring 39 off 17 and taking Ireland home.
For more info: http://www.indyalive.com/T20-world-cup/results/
India goes into the tougher Super Eights group and will look at this game as a chance to iron out any flaws they feel exist. As it is they will probably be the least tested team in the Super Eights, with Bangladesh the third team in the weak Group A. India have been hurt by Virender Sehwag's return home with injury and will need to put that aside immediately.
Form guide
(Last five matches, most recent first)
India
Their new opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir has put on 42 and 140 in the warm-up games, and 59 against Bangladesh. With Sehwag ruled out of the tournament, their success at the top is a big positive.
Ireland
Three of those wins for Ireland have come against Associate nations, and the 138 they chased against Bangladesh is their highest score by a long way in Twenty20 internationals.
Watch out on...
Pragyan Ojha, who made an impact with the first ball he bowled in Twenty20 internationals. Bangladesh had been going on well in their chase when MS Dhoni introduced him in the ninth over. He took out Shakib Al Hasan and Junaid Siddique in his first over. But how long can India keep playing two spinners? And when they do go for just one, will Ojha have done enough to cause a Harbhajan Singh v Ojha debate? Problems of plenty? You bet.
Keep an eye out for the O'Brien brothers. The symbolic image of Ireland's chase against Bangladesh could be the ring-side interview of Niall O'Brien, who scored 40 off 25 balls to set Ireland on their way. A mini-collapse later, though, Ireland was facing a nervous final few over when Niall O'Brien was asked if he thought his team could do it. He said something to the effect of: as long as my brother [Kevin] is there, we will do it. Sure enough Kevin O'Brien brought out the big hits, scoring 39 off 17 and taking Ireland home.
For more info: http://www.indyalive.com/T20-world-cup/results/
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