FANTASY
Follow UsIreland recovered brilliantly to post a formidable total in a rain-hit first T20 International (T20I) against India, but Hardik Pandya’s men made light work of it to go 1-0 up in the two-match series. The hosts will have a chance to level the series in the second game on Tuesday (June 28).
Ground details
Malahide has hosted just two T20Is since 2021, with the pacers picking up close to 61% of the wickets. The spinners may have a lesser share of the wickets, but they have conceded at just 7.4 runs an over and have struck every 18.1 runs, 14.7 deliveries apart. The corresponding numbers for the pacers are 8.7, 23.1 and 16 respectively.
There was some swing on offer early in the match which could be well exploited once again by the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mark Adair, and Josh Little among others.
Having a good balance of pacers and spinners on your side should be the way to go. Both sides of plenty of world-class options at their disposal.
Suggested team
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.
Captain and Vice-captain suggestion
For Small leagues: Ishan Kishan ©, Harry Tector (vc)
For Grand leagues: Paul Stirling ©, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vc)
Stats that matter
Ishan Kishan looked in excellent form in the first T20I before he was cleaned up by Craig Young for an 11-ball 26. He will be key once again for India as they look to complete a 2-0 whitewash. He finished as the leading run-getter in the series against South Africa with 206 runs at a strike-rate of 150.36, which included a couple of fifties. His rise in the T20I rankings too has been phenomenal and is currently the only Indian batter in the top 10.
Playing his first T20I since February this year, Harry Tector took India by surprise with a well-compiled 64* that gave Ireland a chance after a poor start. Two of his three fifties in T20Is have come in his last two innings and will look to make it three in three to give Ireland yet another crack at levelling the series.
India have been the best batting team at the death in T20Is since 2021 among full members, scoring at 10.8 an over above West Indies (10.7), Afghanistan (10.6) and Pakistan (10.5). Ireland with a scoring rate of 7.6 have been the worst side.
Among full members, India’s balls per boundary ratio of 5.5 are the best.
Grand league punts
In T20Is since 2021, Mark Adair (14) has more wickets than Bhuvneshwar Kumar (13) in the powerplay in T20Is among bowlers from Test-playing nations. Adair has done so at a better average (16.6) and strike-rate (15.9) while the India fast bowler has a better economy rate conceding at just 5.3 an over.
Among the batters, only Mohammad Rizwan (532) has scored more runs than Paul Stirling (416) in the first six overs of a T20I since 2021.
Only Jason Holder (16) has more wickets than Craig Young (14) in T20Is this year, among players from Test-playing nations. Young has struck every 9.4 deliveries along with an economy rate of seven.
Probable XI:
Ireland: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), George Dockrell/Curtis Campher, Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Craig Young, Joshua Little, Conor Olphert
India: Ruturaj Gaikwad/Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel/Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan/Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umran Malik
