India-Ireland match has turned into a battle of big hitters between two sides’ batsmen. Both Andrew Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker can score big hits on this pitch; however, they also need to be responsible with the ball.
Indian players have established themselves as powerhouses in limited-overs cricket, yet Ireland’s players are making strides and will present India with a difficult challenge. In this article, we will discuss the high lights of India National Cricket Team vs Ireland Cricket Team Players.
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is one of India’s great batsmen, boasting a firm bottom-hand grip, aggressive style and the ability to smash balls all around the ground with ease. He often scores big without apparent risk – leading his nation to several series victories recently while boasting one of the finest records for any Test batsman ever. Additionally, his record as captain stands him among India’s greats of all time while his ODI stature compares with some of his peers from this era.
Kohli is an outstanding scorer across all formats of cricket. His prodigious batting prowess was evident upon making his international debut in 2008 when he scored a century on his maiden innings. Since then he has helped lead India to victory at three major tournaments: 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy wins, 2024 T20I World Cup where he finished as top run scorer with five fifties as top run scorer, 2026 Test series against England (Odi World Cup final).
He has also proven a steady performer since debuting in 2006, winning 68 caps since. Since then he has averaged over 50 and amassed 35 one-day hundreds, including his highest score against Sri Lanka of 183 against them in 2022. Currently the number one ODI batsman worldwide and likely to become India’s first to surpass 10,000 runs when scoring his next hundred innings.
Kohli’s success as an ODI captain inspired him to assume Test captaincy from MS Dhoni in 2022. His win-loss ratio in this format is impressive and his record as India’s Test skipper boasts several series victories both at home and away.
India have named Rishabh Pant as vice-captain alongside Shubman Gill for the tour of Ireland ODI squad, alongside second keeper Sanju Samson as second keepers, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube as reserves as well as pace bowlers Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohd Siraj as pace bowlers completing the squad.
Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is an Indian cricketer known for his diverse skillset in multiple formats and leading his national team to many notable victories. He has received two national honours – Arjuna Award and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award – while also supporting animal welfare campaigns such as PETA to raise awareness about homeless cats and dogs.
He is an impressive batsman as well, having shown himself to be particularly successful against Ireland in T20 internationals. He excels at amassing runs quickly while being famous for hitting big sixes – key attributes that have contributed significantly to India’s recent success on the pitch.
In 2024, he led his team to victory at the ICC T20 World Cup by scoring three half-centuries and becoming an unstoppable run scorer; earning himself the nickname of Hitman due to his consistent scoring abilities.
Sharma boasts an outstanding record against Ireland in T20Is and is considered one of the most prolific batsmen in the competition. With an ability to start off slowly before gradually building his innings up over time, his consistency makes him such an effective batsman – capable of both long innings and rapid acceleration when required, making him an effective threat for any bowling attack.
He possesses an intimate knowledge of Irish bowling and can take advantage of any mistakes by striking it hard out of the park. Additionally, his high strike rate makes him difficult to bowl against and makes him an invaluable batting asset in T20I cricket – his experience will prove pivotal in India’s chances of victory at this tournament.
India will be represented at the crease by Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav, both of whom have batted cautiously in New York due to an unpredictable pitch. Their opening partnership has produced some decent runs so far and it will be interesting to see whether they can continue this momentum. Meanwhile, their bowlers Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav have done an outstanding job taking wickets with regularity.
Kevin O’Brien
Kevin O’Brien has long been revered in Irish cricket as an iconic figure who played an essential part in their rise to prominence. Since making his ODI debut for Ireland back in June 2006, Kevin O’Brien has represented them in 3 Tests, 153 ODIs and 110 T20Is scoring 5,850 runs while picking up 172 wickets during his international career.
O’Brien is a combative batsman and skilled medium-paced bowler, having perfected both skills in various T20 leagues overseas and developing an arsenal of variations for playing English county clubs and T20 franchise sides. At 38 years old he remains popular across both eras of cricket.
O’Brien became famous with his remarkable innings in the 2011 World Cup against England at Bangalore’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Entering at No. 6, O’Brien looked likely to be out first ball but instead hit six sixes during a breathtaking 50-ball century – still the fastest World Cup century ever made! Additionally, O’Brien took two wickets during that match, giving Ireland fresh hope in their pursuit of Test-playing teams.
Dubliner Christopher O’Brien belonged to a highly accomplished sporting family; his brother Niall played cricket for Ireland while sister Ciara competed internationally on hockey. Educated at Marian College Ballsbridge, O’Brien met and married former Ireland international Heather O’Brien as T20 star before going onto win both an Ireland International Cricket cap in 2001 as well as being T20 World Champion twice herself in T20 competitions.
O’Brien has announced his decision to focus on Twenty20 Internationals instead of One Day Internationals going forward, signing for Gloucestershire with whom he will play one season of First Class, List A and T20 cricket before transitioning completely into T20 all-rounder mode.
Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie will be without O’Brien for their two-match series against India, although senior all-rounder William Porterfield has been left out to make room for new faces and spinners Andy McBrine and George Dockrell can both bring something different with their left-arm orthodox and leg-spin offerings respectively; Gareth Delany can utilise left arm orthodox bowling while Josh Little will use leg-spin.
Paul Stirling
Paul Stirling is one of the most exciting young players in cricket. Since making his debut at 18, he has quickly established himself as one of Ireland’s premier batsmen. With an unmistakably aggressive stance allied to his portly frame – drawing comparisons to Jesse Ryder – and his formidable power hitting ability (whether lashing the ball straight down the ground or pulling over midwicket), Paul Stirling has played franchise cricket across the world and recently signed with Northamptonshire for their 2020 Vitality T20 Blast campaign.
Stirling hails from Belfast and has been an integral member of Ireland’s ODI side since 2009. Since 2009 he has amassed over 5,000 runs for his nation. A prodigious batsman, Stirling has scored multiple century totals over time, such as an unbeaten 134-ball 177 against Canada at Toronto World Cup 2011 and then scoring 101 unbeaten runs against Pakistan during a home match match earlier that same year.
Stirling also represented his country at the 2022 ICC Champions Trophy in Bangladesh, where his performance saw him included in Ireland’s squad to tour New Zealand – hopefully continuing his incredible form and helping Ireland secure their inaugural series victory there!
India has always been an overwhelming force at home, but since the start of this millennium its international record has seen substantial improvement. Under Sourav Ganguly it finished runners-up in 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy and shared joint championship of 2002 ICC Champions Trophy alongside Sri Lanka before winning its inaugural ICC World Twenty20 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2007.
Australia has maintained their dominance of Test cricket thanks to a combination of intelligent coaching from Ravi Shastri and an outstanding fast bowling attack (Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami), along with talented batsmen like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane. Recently it has added numerous successes in ODI and T20 cricket to their list.
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