India registers most successive wins against an opponent in T20s

New York [US], June 6 : Following the defeat of Ireland in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, India registered their most successive wins against any side in the shorter format of the game.

A half-century by skipper Rohit Sharma, fine finishing by Rishabh Pant and scorching spells by Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah were the highlights as India started their ICC T20 World Cup campaign on a winning note, thrashing Ireland by eight wickets.

The wicketkeeper-batter Pant’s bat produced the winning shot in the end, which came on the second ball of the 13th over.

With this victory, India earned their eighth win against the Ireland side in the T20Is. They also have eight wins against Bangladesh from 2009 to 2018.

Australia (2013-2017), Sri Lanka (2016-2017), and West Indies (2018-2019) are the other opponents against whom the Men in Blue have the most wins. The Rohit Sharma-led side has defeated these teams seven times each so far in the history of the sport.

Recapping the match, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first. The Indian bowlers put pressure on Irish batters from the start and had them struggling at 50/8. Some fightback from Gerath Delany (26 in 14 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Joshua Little (14 in 13 balls, with two fours) helped Ireland push the total to 96 in 16 overs.

Hardik Pandya (3/27), Arshdeep Singh (2/35), Jasprit Bumrah (2/6), Mohammed Siraj (1/13) and Axar Patel (1/3) put up fine bowling performances.

During the run-chase of 97 runs, a half-century from skipper Rohit Sharma (52 in 37 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and a supportive knock by Rishabh Pant (36* in 26 balls, with three fours and two sixes) helped India secure an eight-wicket win.