Ireland v India
Sunday 26 June, 16:30
TV: live on BT Sport
Ireland not disgraced
Ireland gave it a good go in game one. In a rain-shortened match to 12 overs per side, a total of 108 was not too shabby. They probably knew at the break that ten-an-over was a minimum but they will be forewarned for game two.
Perhaps the key was losing Paul Stirling so early. The burly opener has been in sensational form in the T20 Blast. Just 15 minutes from him and they could have gone very close indeed.
Still, there were tremendous signs of a supreme talent. Harry Tector came of age with a ferocious 33-ball 64. He threatened India like an IPL old stager.
With the ball Mark Adair and Craig Young were economical and potent respectively. Adair's two overs went for 14 and Young picked up two wickets. If only they'd used another over from at least one of them. Andy McBrine was the villain, if you must have one. His one over cost 21 and was the game.
Curtis Campher, the all-rounder, missed out and they may look to bring him back in to give them more options in both disciplines.
Probable XI: Stirling, Balbirnie, Delany, Tector, Tucker, Dockrell, Adair, Young, Little, McBrine, Colphert
India muscle
India will be happy with the seven-wicket success. It was a nasty baptism of fire for their players in unheralded conditions. Overcast, wet and a slog fest with the locals anticipating an upset.
Yuz Chahal took the man of the match award and his point of difference was always likely to prove crucial. Ireland have seen plenty of pace, up-and-down seamers and off-cutters but Chahal is something mysterious. He could well have the final say again, buoyed by returning figures of one for 11 off three.
Top scorer Deepak Hooda, rather surprisingly, opened the batting. Ruturaj Gaikwad was not trusted with the fast-scoring rate required. It says much about India's strategy that if they reckon he isn't up to the task of scoring that quickly (hardly lkightning by T20 standards), that he shouldn't be in the squad.
Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya were in brutal form and blasted the game away from the hosts. Possible changes include a run out for Arshdeep Singh.
Possible XI: Ishan, Gaikwad, Yadav, Hardik, Hooda, Karthik, Axar, Kumar, Avesh, Umran, Chahal
Pitch report
It's another wet day forecast in Malahide. And that puts a dampener on innings runs wagers. Looking ahead to a shortened affair, pencil in rates of up to ten an over for Ireland at around that 10-13 mark. If India were to bat first we would assume they were capable of repeating close to the 12 an over they managed in the first match.
The chance of precipitation during the day is as high as 91% but that drops to 21% by the evening. That may well give a couple of hours to get a thrash-and-bash sorted. <ahref="https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/cricket/market/1.200549286">Bet the runs line here..
Ireland a trade
In our preview for game one we reckoned Ireland were worth the risk. At the very least, we said, they rated an excellent trade at 9.4017/2. Well, the rain and the reasonably brisk scoring got those odds down.
Playing it again is not a bad option. But it is hard not to reckon that Stirling has to come off - just for a few overs - to really propel them to a match-winning innings.
One piece of good news is that Ireland are currently 9.809/1 so even with conditions wet and the potential for the skinny favourites to make a fatal slip, you're not paying at a more prohibitive price. Bet the match odds here.
Tops value
The value in this contest is in the top match batsman market. SO long as we're correct about the weather forecast, of course. But a gamble's a gamble.
The openers have the best chance of top scoring in a 20-over innings, let alone a slogfest off 12. SO Ishan stands out at 10/3 for honours on the market. Hooda is surprisingly big at 9/1 after topping for India. He's also 6s just for a repeat on that front.
If India are minded to give other batters a go, Rahul Tripathi and Sanju Samson could be promoted at 6/1 and 11/2 respectively.
For Ireland, Stirling is 7/1 and Balbirnie a whopping 14s. Balbirnie is underrated at 9/2 just for a straight up top Ireland win. Tector is 17/1. Bet the match odds Bet the Sportsbook markets here.