Belfast: India won the toss and elected to field first against Ireland in the first T20 of the two-match series at the Civil Service Cricket Club on Friday. India’s teenage sensation, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, has to wait for his senior men’s international debut as he is not part of the playing XI. On the other side, Indian-born Jai Moondra is making his debut for Ireland.
The series marks a new era for the three-time world champions as Shreyas Iyer, who is making his return to the T20I setup after more than two years, is starting his captaincy stint with the team.
The skipper set to lead a batting unit featuring Kishan, vice-captain Tilak Varma, and several aggressive stroke-makers suited to India’s attacking approach.
Ireland, meanwhile, faces a daunting task after being hit by a string of injuries. New captain Lorcan Tucker will lead a depleted squad missing key players, including Paul Stirling, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, and Curtis Campher, while newcomers Matthew Hollard and Jai Moondra have earned call-ups.
History is firmly in India’s favour. The visitors have never lost a completed T201 against Ireland, having won all eight previous meetings, and will be eager to maintain that record as a new era begins at Stormont.
After winning the toss, India’s captain Shreyas Iyer said, “Going to field first. It’s a new surface for us, first time in Belfast. Considering the conditions, the environment, and the wicket, I want to field first. He’s just asked all the players to be themselves and be relentless in the approach. Ruthless. So many other adverbs I can put in here. Need to get accustomed to the conditions as quickly as possible. We’re going to take one match at a time. Always keep saying that you don’t have to complicate things.”
On being asked about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Iyer said, “Unfortunately, no (Vaibhav playing?). He’ll get his opportunity when the time comes. For now, we’re going with three genuine seamers, 1 allrounder.”
After losing the toss, Ireland captain Locran Tucker said, “Would’ve bowled. Looks like a really good pitch. It was a matter of transition. Stirlo led the last couple of years beautifully. Jai is making his debut today.”
Playing XIs:
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
Ireland: Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker(wk/c), Benjamin Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Liam McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys, Jai Moondra, Matthew Hollard
(IANS)
