India show bounce in step

New York, June 5

India captain Rohit Sharma led from the front with an impressive half-century before retiring hurt to guide his team to an eight-wicket victory over Ireland in their opening T20 World Cup group match here today.

After 14 wickets had fallen for 157 runs in the first match on the temporary drop-in pitch when South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets, India bowled Ireland out for 96. Rohit helped allay fears the pitches imported from Adelaide were too helpful to the quicker bowlers, however, easing his way to 52 from 37 balls with three sixes and four fours ahead of one of the most anticipated games of the tournament against Pakistan on Sunday.

After Rohit won the toss on an overcast morning, Ireland were immediately in trouble as they slumped to 46/6.

Only Gareth Delaney offered any real defiance in the face of an attack in which fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was again virtually unplayable, capturing 2/6 from his three overs and beating all the batsmen in the air or off the pitch. Delaney, batting at No. 7, scored 26 from 14 balls, including a four and a six from consecutive balls off Arshdeep Singh, before he was run out. Only three other Ireland players reached double figures.

After Virat Kohli had been quickly dismissed for one, Rishabh Pant (36 not out) batted with typical impudence, scoring the winning runs with a reverse sweep for six.

Brief scores: Ireland: 96 all out in 16 overs (Hardik 3/27, Arshdeep 2/35, Bumrah 2/6); India: 97/2 in 12.2 overs (Rohit 52 retired hurt, Pant 36*). — Agencies

Unpredictable pitch

India captain Rohit Sharma wasn’t exactly pleased with the disconcerting bounce on offer from the drop-in track that left him with a bruised right bicep. “Yeah, just a little sore. I said it at the toss as well. Quite unsure of what to expect from the pitch. Not aware on what it is to play like on a pitch that’s five months old,” Rohit said.