The Irish have had a great relationship with India for more than sixty years and it is one that we hope will continue for many more years to come.
One thing that draws us together is our love for cricket. Everyone knows that Indians are cricket mad, but not many know just how popular it is in Ireland as well.
Cricket Matches Between India and Ireland
Ireland would love to play India a lot more at cricket as we are always willing to test our abilities against some of the best players in the world. After all, we will only be able to improve our own cricket skills if we play against some of the best cricketing nations as well
Up till 2021, the Ireland national cricket team have played India in three ODI matches and three T20I matches. They are yet to win a game. The Ireland national team have only played three test matches in our short cricket history, but we really would love to play a test match against India. Limited overs cricket is fun, but test cricket is what separates the men from the boys. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, the International Cricket Council (ICC) will give us a test match against the mighty Indians. There would be a lot of anticipation and excitement about it as many Indian cricket betting sites would testify.
A Closer Look at Some of the Matches between Ireland and India
In 2018 Ireland welcomed India for two T20I matches.
The first one was played at The Village, Malahide in June 2018. It saw India win by 76 runs. India batted first and scored an imposing 208 from their twenty overs thanks to Rohit Sharma’s 97 from 61 balls and Shikar Dhawan’s 74 from 45 balls. Peter Chase was the pick of the Irish bowlers as he picked up 4 wickets for 35 runs from his 4 overs. In reply, Ireland could only manage 132 runs, despite a fine 60 from 35 balls by James Shannon. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the Indian Bowlers as he managed to collect 4 wickets for just 21 runs from his 4 overs.
The second T20I was also played at The Village, Malahide, and saw India win by a much bigger margin than in the first match. Once again, India batted first and they racked up 213 runs from their twenty overs thanks to a 70 off 36 balls by Kannur Rahul and a 69 from 45 balls by Suresh Raina. Kevin O’Brien was the pick of the Irish bowlers as he picked up 3 wickets for 40 runs from the 4 overs that he bowled. In reply, the Indian bowlers ran wild and bowled Ireland out for a mere 70 with just 12.3 overs bowled. Kuldeep Yadav picked up 3 wickets for 16 runs in just 2.3 overs, while Yuzvendra Chahal picked up 3 wickets for 21 runs in 4 overs. This meant that India won the match by a staggering 143 runs.
The two teams also met at the 2015 Cricket World Cup. This match was played at Seddon Park, Hamilton New Zealand. Ireland batted first and were bowled out for 259 runs with one wicket remaining. Niall O’Brien top scored with 75, while William Porterfield chipped in with 67 and Paul Stirling hit 42. Mohammed Shami was the best Indian bowler as he picked up 3⁄41 from his 9 overs. India, it is fair to say, made light work of the run chase. Shikhar Dhawan smacked a century off 85 balls, Rohit Sharm scored 64, and Virat Kohli chipped in with 44*. India passed Ireland’s total with 17.1 overs remaining, to win by 8 wickets.
If you liked this article, you can also read about India’s cricket rivalry with South Africa here.