Pacers have a field day as India make short work of Irish challenge on treacherous surface for batting
NEW YORK: A hint of cloud, nip in the air, and a pitch with a bit of assistance. The Indian bowlers couldn't have asked for anything more as they looked to make their New York debut a memorable one at the Nassau International County ground on Wednesday.
The fans might have preferred a slightly more competitive game, but as long as India win, no one cares.
An eight-wicket win gave the favourites opportunity to flex their muscles. It was a toss that India wouldn't have liked to lose and once that fell in place, the four-man pace attack of
Arshdeep Singh
,
Mohammed Siraj
,
Jasprit Bumrah
and
Hardik Pandya
did all the damage. Of course, on a pitch where there was up-and-down bounce, the Ireland batters didn't have the knowhow to stretch the game deep.
While Arshdeep (2-35) did the early damage, the most heartening aspect of the bowling display came from Hardik. It was absolutely crucial that the allrounder finds his bearings early on. The conditions were just right and Hardik shifted slightly from his normal style and looked to bowl a bit fuller. It paid off dividends as Lorcan Tucker got bowled. Hardik (3-27) did bowl a few slightly short as well and it kept getting difficult for the Irish batters.
In the middle of all this, Bumrah (2-6) went about his business, hitting the right spots and looking virtually unplayable at times. With the variable bounce on offer, one could see that there was a fear-factor around Bumrah's bowling that made him all the more difficult to play.
Virat-Rohit combo stutters
The opening combination of Virat and Rohit, who were doing the job together for the first time since March 20, 2021, was one of the prime attractions of this game. It would have been great for the partisan fans to see the two firing, but they only got a
Rohit
show.
Rohit survived a few close calls but the skipper buckled down and decided that in a chase of 97, he wouldn't miss out on some vital batting practice.
Rishabh Pant
, batting at No. 3 showed that all the hard work he had put in was paying off. Rohit and Pant's 54-run partnership sealed the game for India. But there was a small cloud of worry at the end.
Just after Rohit had completed his half-century, a rising ball hit his shoulder, and the skipper quite clearly didn't want to aggravate the pain. At 76-1, Rohit walked off retired hurt. It was just the perfect day for the Men in Blue, but the fans would hope that the skipper is back to full fitness for the Sunday bash against Pakistan.
English (US) ·