*IRELAND VS INDIA 3rd T20I IN A 3 MATCH T20I SERIES 2023 PREVIEW*
*THE BUILD UP:*
*INDIA AIM FOR ONE FINAL PUSH:*
After conquering Ireland twice this tour already, the focus now lies in getting home with a clean sweep. India have a big task ahead of them and they need to win with more conviction. Regardless of performance and wins, the margins just haven’t been positive enough. This leads to questioning what India are not doing fearlessly and with flawlessness. There are some wounds in the system and it can be seen. Allowing Ireland to cross the 150 mark and not scoring over 200 last game was questionable; so was the win in the opener where DLS (just barely) helped the visitors emerge victorious.
If India want to strengthen their hold with a young talented team at their disposal to prove their supremacy, the Bumrah led side need dominance to be the main priority. Winning with closer margins against a side like Ireland despite competing in their own home is not done. I would like to see how Tilak bounces back after two disappointing outings, the youngster has experienced a little slump for the first time and how he looks to overcome it will be crucial to his growth as a cricketer and something that will define his character. He has the fearless game and the right intent to match it. Consistency is one factor that only comes with time and the youngster who recently got picked in the Asia Cup Squad would be keen upon making a mark in this final T20I, that also gives a rest to India’s tour of Ireland.
*IRELAND PROBABLE XI:*
Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Stirling (c), Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young, Joshua Little, Benjamin White
The senior finally turns up. Even though his knock of composure came in a losing knock, it is worth appreciating largely because of how he stood tall against a world class Indian pace attack where all others around him were on the fall, a steep fall. Balbirnie after a series of middling knocks finally rose to the occasion and with form backing him now, he’d be keen on carrying this forward and make sure that the likes of Tector, Stirling and Tucker chip in with valuable contributions that would go onto make big significance in the long run.
I’ve been watching Craig Young for long and his skillsets vs the top batters of the world and good teams has impressed me. He has three wickets to his name already at an economy under 8 and should look to rattle this lineup again.
*INDIA PROBABLE XI:*
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (w), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Ravi Bishnoi
The Indian side could be 50:50 upon resting Prasidh and Bumrah. They just returned from injury and playing a dead rubber could be avoided but if we look at the other side of the coin, with rhythm comes strength and form and these two with wickets in both the outings seem to be getting back in shape with some style. The team could look at featuring both again and make sure that Arshdeep is swapped for Avesh who will feature in the Asian Games next and as a result needs some gametime. What also contributes towards the swapping of Arshdeep is his lack of nailing the Yorker ability which has been made very evident over these last 5-7 T20I games. The left armer needs to work on this aspect.
Rinku Singh last game announced his debut in style. He adorned the blue and decided to play a typical Rinku like knock- being selfless, attacking and dominating in the process and catering the Irish bowling lineup with disdain. Goes without saying that the team requires characters like him and not to forget the comeback that is expected out of Verma who lost the spark in last two games after a rocking start to his career vs Windies.
Sanju Samson hit some runs of value last game as he raced away to 40 runs but somebody of his stature with a reputation so big playing franchise cricket for so long, needs to serve better. He needs bigger and higher scores up his belt in order to push his case and even India needed a better knock that day. Anyday scores like 185 on a belter can be chased down and India underperforming with Sanju not going big even after getting set and Ruturaj playing slow is a big negative. The two blokes who will be a part of the setup once again, for one more time would look to work on this aspect.
*MY PREDICTIONS:*
*FOR IRE:*
Highest run getter- Harry Tector/Andrew Balbirnie
Highest wicket taker- Craig Young/Mark Adair
*FOR INDIA:*
Highest run getter- Jaiswal/Samson
Highest wicket taker- Prasidh Krishna/Ravi Bishnoi