Ireland vs India, IRE vs IND, Today Match Prediction 18 August 2023

IRE vs IND Match Prediction & Analysis

After an unexpected series loss against West Indies, India will travel to Ireland for a three-match T20I series. The first T20I of the series will be played at The Village, Dublin on 18th August from 8 pm onwards. Jasprit Bumrah will be making his comeback after a gap of close to 11 months. Bumrah will be captaining the squad with the majority of the key players missing.

Another player making a comeback from injury is Prasidh Krishna, a fellow fast bowler who was also in the process of recovering from the lumbar stress fracture that kept him sidelined for almost a year. India lost 3-2 against West Indies, a week back. Tilak Varma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan are the sole of India's T20I squad in the West Indies who have been retained for this selection. Arshdeep Singh was the leading wicket-taker for India with 7 wickets in 5 games at an average of 22.29.

All-rounders Fionn Hand and Gareth Delany have been recalled to the Ireland squad, resulting in the omission of wicketkeeper-batter Neil Rock and pacer Graham Hume. Ireland recently came second in the ICC Mens T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier to secure a place in the ICC World T20 2024. Mark Adair finished as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 12 wickets.

Both teams have played 11 T20Is this year and have 6 wins & 5 losses each. India are unbeaten against Ireland in the 5 games played so far including a 2-0 series win in Ireland last year.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

IRE

IND

L W W L L

WI

171/2 in 18.0 9.5

WI vs IND

West Indies won by 8 wickets 13 Aug 2023

IND

165/9 in 20.0 8.25

WI

178/8 in 20.0 8.9

WI vs IND

India won by 9 wickets 12 Aug 2023

IND

179/1 in 17.0 10.53

WI

159/5 in 20.0 7.95

WI vs IND

India beat West Indies by 7 wickets 08 Aug 2023

IND

164/3 in 17.5 9.2

WI

155/8 in 18.5 8.23

WI vs IND

West Indies won by 2 wkts 06 Aug 2023

IND

152/7 in 20.0 7.6

WI

149/6 in 20.0 7.45

WI vs IND

West Indies won by 4 runs

03 Aug 2023

IND

145/9 in 20.0 7.25

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Ireland Preview

After Ireland's hopes of securing a berth at the ODI World Cup in India later this year were dashed following a disappointing campaign in Zimbabwe, they finished second in the Europe T20 Qualifier to book the ticket to ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Paul Stirling will be captaining the squad and is likely to open with Andrew Balbirnie. Ireland’s leading run scorer (3379 runs), Stirling scored 122 runs in the 5 games of the qualifier with a strike rate of 145.24. But his record against India is poor. He has scored just 45 runs in 4 games. While his opening partner has 80 runs in the same number of games.

Lorcan Tucker will play in the top order after a successful show in the Qualifier. Tucker was the leading run scorer in the tournament for Ireland with 128 runs at a strike rate of 147.13. He will be the batter to look out for. Irish middle order will be comprised of Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, and Gareth Delany. Tector was the key attraction of Ireland’s last series against India at home. In two games, Tector scored 103 runs with a strike rate of 168.85- the best among all. It will be interesting to see how he will come up against the second team of India.

Mark Adair will lead the bowling unit with Josh Little and Barry McCarthy. Adair finished as the leading wicket-taker of the Europe Qualifier with 12 wickets at an average of 8.75. He also scored 72 off 36 balls in the last game against Scotland. Adair is also the leading wicket-taker for Ireland in T20Is. He has 97 wickets in 69 games with an economy of 7.65. On the other hand McCarthy took 9 wickets in the last 5 games at an average of 13.44. IPL 2023’s finalist Josh Little will use his experience from the IPL

Key Players: Lorcan Tucker, Mark Adair, Joshua Little.

Ireland Predicted Playing XI:

Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Stirling (c), Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Benjamin White

Ireland Actual Playing XI:

Joshua Little, Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Mark Adair, Paul Stirling, Barry McCarthy, Andrew Balbirnie, Craig Young, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Ben White

India Preview

Besides Bumraj and Kirshna, India have recalled Ruturaj Giakwad, Shivam Dube, Washington Sinder, and Shahbaz Ahmed. Gaikwad has been given the role of the deputy under Bumrah. During a triumphant season, Gaikwad emerged as the second-highest run-scorer for the Chennai Super Kings, amassing an impressive total of 590 runs in 16 innings. He maintained a formidable strike rate of 147.50, contributing significantly to the team's success. He will open with Yashaswi Jaiswal who recently had his T20I  debut and scored 72 runs in his last game.

In the absence of Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma might get promoted to the number three position. The Mumbai Indians player lead the Indian batting attack against West Indies with 173 runs at a strike rate of 140.65. He will be the batter to look out for. Sanju Samson will be playing all three games as a wicketkeeper. Samson failed to mark his presence against West Indies. He scored just 32 runs in 5 games. India have picked Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, and Shivam Dube after an impressive IPL season. Washington Sundar will be played as a bowling all-rounder in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja. Sundar played his last T20I in February against New Zealand.

Bumrah’s return is the talk of the town. After missing action for almost 11 months, he will be leading the squad. Arshadeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar are the active players from the West Indies series who will team up with Bumrah for this series. Arshdeep Singh took 7 wickets in the series to finish as the leading wicket-taker for India. Ravi Bishnoi will be added to the playing eleven as a spinner. Bishnoi has played 1 game against Ireland claiming 1 wicket at an economy of 6.

Key Players: Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh.

India Predicted Playing XI:

Yashaswi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Sanju Samson (wk), Jasprit Bumrah (C), Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.

India Actual Playing XI:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Partly cloudy in the morning followed by rain throughout the day. The temperature will range between 15 and 18. The wind will be flowing from the west at 10-25 kmh. Malahide Cricket Ground is known for its well-maintained pitches that offer assistance to both batsmen and bowlers. The pitch tends to be relatively flat, which generally favors batsmen who can play their shots freely. However, there might be some movement and assistance for the fast bowlers, especially early in the innings, due to the cool and damp conditions that Dublin often experiences.

The pitch usually becomes better for batting as the match progresses, with spin bowlers also coming into play as the game advances. The lush green outfield and the coastal location of the ground can contribute to swing and seam movement for fast bowlers, particularly during the morning sessions.

IRE vs IND Pitch Report

The first T20I of the series will be played at The Village, Dublin on 18th August from 8 pm onwards. The venue has a capacity of 15000 spectators and has hosted 28 ODIs & 21 T20Is. In 2018, Ireland have recorded the lowest total on the ground (70) against India.

Toss: To Bowl

In 21 T20Is, the results have favored the team chasing the target 13 times. Even the last five games out of seven have been won by the team that opted to bowl first. The average first innings score at the Village is 151. The team winning the toss should bowl first.