India VS Ireland

Match No 22- India VS Ireland, 6^th March, Chinnaswamy Stadium – Bangalore

 Before the World cup stated, ticket sales for this match was dull as this was expected to be a cakewalk for the Indians. But things changed once Ireland humiliated England by chasing 300 odd runs and plenty of expectations and buzz in Bangalore for this match. Online tickets were sold out, counter tickets were sold out few days before the match and KSCA tried their best to accommodate extra spectators. This match had an impact on the Eng-S Africa clash at Chennai as people preferred watching the India match in TV and started selling their tickets for lesser prices….

 Dhoni won the toss, elected to field first on a slowish wicket and retained the same eleven that played against England, raising some eyebrows as our bowling was nothing but ordinary in that match. Zaheer Khan, the spearhead of the Indian Bowling attack for the last 2 years, struck early dismissing Stirling and Ed Joyce and the score board read 9/2. Ireland were in a spot of bother.. However the skipper Porterfield and Neil O’Brien put on a 100 plus partnership and played with ease and comfort against the Indian bowlers who were off colour.

   Just when it looked Ireland were eying a huge score, they lost O’Brien who was ran out by Kohli for well made 46. This was the turning point of the match as wicket started falling at regular intervals with once the skipper stowing resistance with a fighting 75.

 Yuvi show with the Ball

    Yuvraj has shown in the past that he is more than a capable part time spinner and on a slower track he was more effective and bowled a great line and length, assisted by the wicket that gave him more turn and bounce. Wickets started falling to Yuvi’s guiles and he ended up taking 5 wickets for just 31 runs, even the main strike bowlers would have been proud of these figures. Ireland collapsed from 129/3 to 207 all out in in 48 over’s. Zaheer was the other pick of the bowlers taking 3/30.

    

India bats:

   207 is not a tough target for any batting line up that has Sehwag at 1 and Pathan at 7 and Indians were expected to make a easy run chase. However, this was not to be. Ireland may be still minnows but they showed they had plenty of energy and enthusiasm to put up a good fight against India.

   Disastrous start- Veeru Departs:

     

India got off to a disastrous start with Sehwag giving a simple caught and bowled chance to Johnson who celebrated with the famous chicken dance. Gambhir too departed early with the scoreboard reading 2/24. However, Indians had one Mr Sachin Tendulkar who can steady the ship and play a long innings.      

 Sachin- Kohli Partnership

    Virat Kohli has been at the form of his life and when he joined Sachin at the crease, it seemed certain that Indian’s won’t lose too many wickets in the run chase. Both started rotating the strike at will and struck the odd boundaries whenever loose deliveries were bowled. They had put on 63 runs and going good when Sachin played a poor sweep shot to a length delivery from the 18 year old leg spinner Dockrell and was declared LBW by the umpire. Sachin decided not to review this one as he felt it was plumb and departed to the pavilion.

   

 Yuvi’s turn with the bat:

  It was Yuvi’s day and whatever he touched turned into Gold. Even though Kohli was run out due to a misunderstanding with Yuvi, Yuvi’s presence ensured India was never going to struggle for runs. MS joined Yuvi and both these experienced campaigners played slowly and steadily towards the target.             Both struck very few boundaries, but ensured that the scoreboard keeps moving and Irish bowlers were running out of steam. Yuvi made 50 not out, and became the first players in world cup history to score a 50 and take 5 wickets in the same match.

  

  Dhoni goes but Yusuf Storms India to Victory:

   Once again the 18 year old leggie impressed with castling Dhoni with a straighter one and Yusuf pathan came in to some loud cheers from the crowd anticipating fireworks from his blade. Yusuf obliged, scoring 30 of 23 balls with 3 of his trademark towering sixes to long on and 2 boundaries. Yusuf came and Yusuf gone….The match is all over.. Credit must go to the steady innings from Sachin, Yuvraj and the blistering cameo from Yusuf. India reached 201/5 in 47.5 over’s…..

 Fighting Irish Team:

 However, credit must be also given to the Irish team who put up a good fight with the ball, never allowing the Indians to dominate the match. They bowled with intensity, fielded with passion and at the end of the day, did not really lose the match. It was a wonderful try and they will definitely get better from here..

Awful Indian bowling

 Batsmen set up matches, but it’s the bowler who wins matches. Indian Team is capable of scoring 300 plus every match but with the kind of bowling they have, they are most likely to squander these matches. Harbhajan was not threatening on a helpful pitch; Munaf was unimpressive while chawla gave too many runs. But for Yuvraj’s spell of 5 wickets, Indians could have ended up chasing 250 plus.