India dismiss Ireland for 96 in T20 World Cup
India dismiss Ireland for 96 in T20 World Cup
Hardik Pandya took two wickets in two balls as India dismissed Ireland for a lowly 96 in the teams' T20 World Cup opener in New York on Wednesday.
Left-armer Arshdeep Singh did the early damage after India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss by striking twice in the third over to reduce Ireland to 9-2.
All-rounder Pandya (3-27) and Jasprit Bumrah (2-6) followed up.
Only four Ireland batsmen reached double figures, Gareth Delany top-scoring for 26 before he was run out as the innings ended with exactly four overs still left.
Once again a drop-in pitch of variable bounce at a Long Island ground built specially for the tournament, where both Sri Lanka and South Africa had struggled for runs on Monday, made life tough for the batsmen.
Ireland were 77-9 when tailender Josh Little was bowled for 14.
But with Delany hitting both Pandya and Arshdeep for well-struck sixes, Ireland rallied
Earlier, left-armer Arshdeep had Ireland captain Paul Stirling skying to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and then clean bowled Andy Balbirnie with a delivery that cut away.
Pandya had Curtis Campher (12) caught behind and with the first ball of his next over dismissed Mark Adair before Barry McCarthy survived the hat-trick.