India will be looking to keep their perfect 2015 Cricket World Cup record in tact when they meet Ireland at Seddon Park in Hamilton today. Join The Roar for live scores from 12:00 midday.
At the end of their Australian tour, India’s hopes of defending their 2011 World Cup looked on shaky ground. Four games later and they sit with New Zealand as one of the form teams of the competition.
With impressive wins against Pakistan and South Africa to open their campaign, India then cruised to their third and fourth wins against the United Arab Emirates, after knocking over the associate nation for just 102, and the Windies for 182.
Their opponents today have enjoyed a successful World Cup (by UK standards that is), currently sitting inside knock-out qualification with two wins and two losses. The pinnacle of their campaign so far came in the opening fixture, as they knocked off former one-day powerhouse, the West Indies, after chasing down 304 in just the 46th over.
The key for Ireland today will be containing Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kholi. With 233 and 219 runs respectively for the competition so far, India’s key men with the bat will be looking to add to their totals with significant totals today.
If Ireland can snag these men cheaply, then the notion of another underdog emerging against a powerhouse will begin (even if only momentarily) to be entertained.
With the trend of minnows knocking off proud cricketing nations continuing last night in Adelaide with Bangladesh securing a famous victory against England, the idea of another World Cup upset does not seem entirely unlikely.
But factoring in the current form of England and the West Indies, it is difficult to conclude that today’s result will be anything other than a fifth straight win for the 2011 champions.
With their final group match against Zimbabwe on Saturday, India will be confident at this point of remaining perfect in the group stages and giving themselves the best shot at advancing through the business end of the competition.
Prediction: India with time to spare.
Join The Roar for live scores of India vs Ireland from 12:00pm (AEDT).
If you are following the action live, be sure to share your thoughts on the match in the comments below.
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