NEW DELHI: In bowling friendly conditions, India pacers breathed fire as Ireland found themselves tottering at 49 for 7 at just over halfway mark in their
T20 World Cup
opener in New York on Wednesday.
Aided by the surface at the newly built Nassau Stadium in New York, the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Siraj looked unplayable as the Irish batters ducked for cover during first half show in the Group A game.
The batters copped blows and were beaten left, right and centre as the Indians pace trio utilized the spongy surface superbly to their advantage.
However, former England skipper
Michael Vaughan
along with others looked quite unimpressed with the behaviour of the pitch in the
India vs Ireland
game.
Criticizing the surface and the slow-ish outfield, social media was abuzz over the playing conditions in New York.
Earlier, after India's sole warm-up game against Bangladesh at the same venue, India head coach Rahul Dravid cautioned about the 'soft ground, spongy pitch'.
"The ground is a little bit soft. So I think the guys will feel that a little bit tomorrow on the hamstring and calves, so it is an area we have to ensure we are working around and ensure that the guys are looking after themselves because it does feel a little bit heavy underneath," Dravid said in a video posted by BCCI.
"Little bit spongy at times but I thought we coped really well. I thought we managed that really well. We batted and put what we thought was an above par score on that wicket. Then came out and bowled really well," he added.
Hardik picked up three wickets while Arshdeep and Bumrah grabbed a couple each as Ireland were shot out for a lowly 96 in 16 overs.
Siraj and spinner Axar Patel also grabbed a wicket each for India.
English (US) ·