India vs Ireland, 2nd T20I Preview: Playing 11, Timings, Telecast & More

Malahide, June 28: Experiment is the buzzword as India prepare to take on Ireland in the second and final T20I, aiming to strike the perfect balance while ringing in the changes on Friday (June 29).

The Men in Blue got their three-month long tour of Ireland and England off to a fine start with a 76-run win on Wednesday (June 27).

It indicated that India's first-choice eleven was functioning properly after a break of three months, and tuning itself for the England tour. The big question is of bench strength and chances for the likes of KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik and Umesh Yadav.

"...we are going to do a lot of experiments in the middle-order...We are looking to give everyone game-time and want them to portray the qualities they possess because many guys go on tour and never get an opportunity to play," said skipper Virat Kohli post the first T20I.

Innings Break!#TeamIndia 208/5 in 20 overs (Rohit 97, Dhawan 74)

Follow the game here - https://t.co/Qr2pRPJyur #IREvIND pic.twitter.com/wsYfaLESHy

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 27, 2018

It indicates that India have zeroed in on Rohit and Dhawan as their first-choice opening combination for the limited-overs' leg of this tour. It also confirmed that Rahul will bat in the middle-order whenever an opportunity presents itself, and it could be as early as the next game.

Kohli's words though do not shine enough light on whether India will go in for wholesale changes to their bowling attack as well.

Talking after the game he did say that 'looking at the squad, the changes are obvious'. Yet, at the same time, there are a few names that cannot be left out Rohit, Dhawan, Kohli himself, Dhoni and the two leg-spinners.

India will have an advantage from the fact that the pitch for the second T20I is expected to play much in the same fashion as on Wednesday.

FIFTY!

Hitman joins the party as he brings up his 50 off 39 deliveries. This is 15th half century in T20I cricket.#IREvIND pic.twitter.com/zUePJ0bsIe

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 27, 2018

Both Kuldeep and Chahal were able to garner purchase from the strip, and Ireland skipper Gary Wilson went as far as to say that it "wouldn't have mattered if they had bowled first or second."

Clearly, the gap in quality between the two sides is too far to bridge even for this gutsy Irish side. Barring an unimaginable upset then, India do have the luxury of going with a batsman short and accommodating an extra bowler.

It is noticeable that the team management is reluctant to drop both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah whenever they are fit and available.

Gabbar is on song here as he brings up his 50 off 27 deliveries.#IREvIND pic.twitter.com/wx8yjv3UCQ

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 27, 2018

Leaving out Hardik Pandya for three full-time pacers and two spinners still gives Kohli five bowling options, enabling him to leave out Suresh Raina and Manish Pandey to bring in both Rahul and Karthik.

There is also the small matter of getting some time at the crease for himself after Kohli got out for a two-ball duck on his first outing on this tour. While it is too early to worry about, it did ring in memories of his troubles in 2014 where he just couldn't buy a run, irrespective of formats.

Irrespective of the scope of team changes, on the strength of their batting and bowling, India will be firm favourites going into this second game.

Teams: India: Virat Kohli (capt), 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 (capt & 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.

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