India begin their sojourn in UK with a two-match T20I series against Ireland on Wednesday in Dublin. This will be the first time after the South Africa series earlier this year that India will field a full-strength team. All the eyes will be on skipper Virat Kohli who is coming back after a neck injury. Apart from Kohli, the Indian team has a few more match-winners who could turn on the heat in this series. Cricketnext takes a look at these players: VIRAT KOHLI The Indian captain will be back in action in international cricket after a hiatus of four months. Kohli had a good IPL season, scoring 530 runs at an average of more than 48. His last T20 international for India was against South Africa in the month of February. Kohli had a disappointing outing in the two T20 internationals against the Proteas, scoring 26 and 1. The Indian captain will be looking to get some runs under his belt against an inexperienced Ireland bowling unit to warm up ahead of the limited overs series against England. ROHIT SHARMA Rohit Sharma made his international debut in an ODI against Ireland way back in 2007. The Indian vice-captain will hope to get his form with the bat back on track in the place where it all started. Sharma comes into the series on the back of his worst ever IPL season, where he scored 286 runs at an average of 23.83. Sharma’s last T20 assignment for India was in Sri Lanka, where he led the ‘Men in Blue’ to the Nidahas Trophy title. He registered impressive knocks of 89 and 56 against Bangladesh in the tri-series. The Indian opener will look to put pressure on the Ireland bowlers at the top of the order to give good starts to the team. SURESH RAINA Suresh Raina returned to the T20I fold earlier this year in South Africa, after being left out of the limited overs team for almost a year. Since his comeback, the southpaw has scored 192 runs in 8 matches at an average of 24, which is not something to write home about. Raina though has a strike-rate of above 140 in these matches and it seems he has been given the license to go for the kill by the team management. He comes into the series on the back of a successful IPL season, having scored 445 runs at an average of 37. Raina though needs to contribute more in Team India colours and his return to the ODI squad should also bolster his confidence. BHUVNESHWAR KUMAR Bhuvneshwar Kumar could be India’s trump card on the tour due to his ability to the move the ball both in the air and off the pitch. The conditions in Ireland and in England will suit his style of bowling and the Meerut lad would look to cash in on conducive playing conditions. Kumar had an injury-ridden IPL season where he picked up 9 wickets in 12 matches, despite the Sunrisers reaching the final of the tournament. Bhuvneshwar, who sat out the Nidahas Trophy and Afghanistan Test, had a good outing against South Africa in the shortest format, picking up 7 wickets in the three matches. YUZVENDRA CHAHAL Yuzvendra Chahal has been one part of Team India’s successful spin-twins, along with Kuldeep Yadav, in limited overs cricket over the past year. Chahal though had a poor outing in the IPL, picking up only 12 wickets in 14 matches, which are his lowest returns in the tournament since 2014. The leg-break bowler had a good time in the tri-series in Sri Lanka, picking up 8 wickets in 5 matches. Chahal though will be tested in conditions which do not help spinners. A good showing against the Irish, who aren’t adept at playing quality spin bowling, will give much needed confidence to the tweaker ahead of tougher assignments against the English.<doc-sep>Indian star batsman Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have given a brilliant start to India. The right hand and left-hand combination quite made tricky for the Ireland bowlers to break the heft partnership between them. Ireland won the toss and opt to bowl first. Dhawan, Raina and MS Dhoni departs. India crosses 200 benchmarks. Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team are all set to begin their long UK tour when they lock horns with Ireland in the first T20I of the two-match series in Malahide's Village, Dublin. This is India's first T20I assignment since the Nidahas Trophy in March, and the squad doesn't have any major surprises. Dropped! 😱 Rohit is put down by Stuart Thompson at long-off. The India openers are dealing in sixes, Rohit on 73, Dhawan on 69. Five overs to go, India 148/0.#IREvIND #BackingGreen pic.twitter.com/xIX9vhwi4k — Cricket Ireland (@Irelandcricket) June 27, 2018 CricBuzz Cricbuzz There is a tough competition at no 4 slots where KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, and Suresh Raina will put every possible effort to seal the slot by their performance. Team India will play two days T20 international series against Ireland on June 27 and June 29 before they play a limited-overs series and Tests game against England. India will play three T20Is games against England. They will then play three ODIs before the commencement of the high-profile five-match Test series. Indian Squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal Ireland Squad: Gary Wilson (c), Paul Stirling, James Shannon, Andrew Balbirnie, Simi Singh, Stuart Poynter (wk), Kevin O Brien, Stuart Thompson, George Dockrell, Boyd Rankin, Peter Chase Also Read: India Vs Ireland, T20 Series: Rohit Sharma joins Shikhar Dhawan's party as he brings up his 50, Dhawan gone at 74<doc-sep>India vs Ireland, 1st T20I, latest score and updates: That's it! India have won by 26 runs. A comprehensive win. They outplayed Ireland in every department. After being send into bat, the openers set the platform with massive 160-run stand. Rohit missed out on his ton by 3 runs. India managed to post a formidable 208/5. In reply, Ireland got off to a jittery start. They lost Stirling early, But then James Shannon, riding on luck kept the momentum going. He scored 60 but the Indian spinners wove a web around the batsmen in the middle overs and that's where Ireland's game was lost. Kuldeep was brilliant with four wickets. Chahal picked up three. Ireland never got the momentum going and fell well short. Preview: It's the dress rehearsal before the the actual test but India would do well not to let the guard down when they take on a lowly but effervescent Ireland in a two-match T20 rubber. The games will mark the onset of a long summer for the Indian team, with sterner tests against England to follow this short series in Malahide on the outskirts of Dublin. England have just hammered Australia in an ODI series and most of their top players are in sublime form. Perhaps it was a marker of this crucial impending assignment that India decided to stay on and practice in London on Monday. While the contingent had arrived from Delhi on Saturday, this was a first training session on-tour, held at the Merchants Taylor School cricket ground. Reportedly, the players were split into three groups while practicing all facets of the game. Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar headed the pace group along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya, while a few others practised fielding drills. Among batsmen, openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan enjoyed a first stint together. Skipper Virat Kohli and the in-form KL Rahul batted together in adjacent nets against spin and pace respectively. While Rahul has been a constant part of the T20I squad, Ajinkya Rahane's omission from the ODI squad means that he is once again a contender for the number four spot when the three-match series against England begins on July 12. Since the tour of South Africa, this is the first time a full-strength Indian team will be seen in action. Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and MS Dhoni were rested for the T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka in March. The former trio also missed the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Bengaluru recently. With Rahul in contention for a starting spot in the middle order, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik will be left jostling for two spots. As part of the full-strength Indian side, the three had featured in the T20 series against South Africa. Raina had been used as a pinch-hitting, aggressive number three option, but the current situation might warrant a re-think. Nevertheless, Raina provides a sixth bowling option as well. India would also not want to drop Dinesh Karthik, who is in sizzling form since March. It could mean that Pandey eventually warms the bench, despite scoring 255 runs in 8 T20Is this year against South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at an average of 85. On the bowling front, Kohli will be tempted to field both leg-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, giving them an early taste of conditions here. However, the pace department is an area of concern, as the second-choice fast bowlers have not enjoyed enough game time. Since the 2017 Champions Trophy, India have played 32 ODIs and 18 T20Is, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah handling the new ball in 26 ODIs and 9 T20Is, respectively. Umesh Yadav last played an ODI in September 2017 against Australia at Bengaluru. Siddharth Kaul was in the Indian squad for the home ODIs against Sri Lanka in December, but was not picked ahead of Kumar-Bumrah. Kaul is also yet to make his T20I debut, while Yadav played his only T20I back in 2012. It remains to be seen if the think tank will bench either Kumar or Bumrah against Ireland to give other pacers some much needed overs. India and Ireland do not have a rich playing history. Despite touring England in 2011 and 2014, this is the Men in Blue's first visit here since 2007 when they played a solitary ODI at Belfast. Rohit, Dhoni and Karthik were part of that squad, albeit Karthik was picked ahead of Dhoni in the playing eleven for that one-off game. Overall, India and Ireland have played only four times, in three ODIs (the other two during 2011 and 2015 ODI World Cups) and a T20I in 2009 during the World T20 in England. India had won that game at Nottingham by eight wickets with Rohit scoring an unbeaten half-century. Dhoni and Raina are the other current' members from that playing eleven nine years ago. For Ireland, skipper Gary Wilson, former captain William Porterfield and all-rounder Kevin O'Brien are the ones to have T20 experience against an Indian team. Meanwhile, 31-year-old Punjab-born off-spinner Simranjit Singh will enjoy the spotlight of playing against his erstwhile nation. Teams: India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Siddarth Kaul. Ireland: Gary Wilson (c & wk), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell , Josh Little, Andy McBrine, Kevin O'Brien, William Porterfield, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson. With inputs from PTI<doc-sep>
India are the third-ranked Twenty20 International side, while Ireland are down at No.17. On the face of it, it’s a mismatch. But in Irish conditions the difference in rankings might not be too significant. Not to forget that the Indians have just reached the country and have had only a couple of days of training. The first of two T20Is could well be a close scrap. The live telecast of the match will start at 8:30 PM on June 27 (Wednesday). The match can be seen live on the Sony Six network and live streaming will be available on SonyLIV.com. You can also follow our live blog for ball-by-ball updates and analysis on cricketnext.com. Of the two teams, Ireland are more T20I ready. The Indians were all a part of the Indian Premier League 2018, but have since played only one Test against Afghanistan at home. Ireland, meanwhile, were away in the Netherlands playing a triangular T20I series against the hosts and Scotland. That would have helped Ireland for sure, and similar exposure before the two-match series would have been good for India as well. They have a long tour of the region, starting with the T20I series in Ireland, followed by three T20Is, three one-day internationals and five Tests in England, with tour games in between. But looking at the Ireland games as prep outings might not be a good idea for Virat Kohli’s team. The Irish have a history of upsetting the applecart of higher-rated teams, and India should be wary of the threat. The good thing for India is that they have a first-choice squad to pick from. A batting unit headlined by Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey is a formidable one in any part of the world. India also have a solid pace attack led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah – the best ODI bowler in the world – Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder, and Siddarth Kaul, the impressive uncapped swing bowler. There are spin options in Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar too, and it might be tricky for the team management to leave players out. On paper, India are the superior team. But Ireland are desperate to move up the rankings, hungry to make a statement, and have the players who can change the script of a game on their day. It should be entertaining all right. Squads: Ireland: Gary Wilson (c), Andy Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Joshua Little, Andy McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, William Porterfield, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson India: Virat Kohli (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Siddarth Kaul, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav