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After India's home T20I series against South Africa ended in a 2-2 draw, their next international fixture is against Ireland. However, this will be a new-look team with Hardik Pandya leading the side for the two T20I games.
With India looking to find the perfect combination and shortlisting the set of players who will be on that flight to Australia for the T20 World Cup later this year, the two matches hold a lot of significance.
Ahead of this Ireland-India T20I series opener at the Malahide Cricket Club Ground or The Village in Dublin, here is a stat-based prediction of who has the advantage before the first ball is bowled.
1. Toss Prediction
Ireland's previous T20Is came in the T20 World Cup qualifiers. In their last three fixtures, they ended up winning 2 tosses which means a toss-winning ratio of 66.66 per cent. Meanwhile, India did not win a single toss in the home series against South Africa and have a 0 per cent toss winning rate in their last 3 T20Is. So predicting Ireland to win the toss.
2. Win Possibility
While one can say that this will be an Indian team without some of the big names in it, they still appear to be the stronger team. They have more experience and have played more T20 cricket than Ireland whose last international match came in February 2022. Hence, India seems to be the favourites to win this match.
3. Team of the Day
The Team of the Day is India. Both the teams have faced each other thrice in T20Is and on all the three occasions it is the Men in Blue who have emerged victorious. Going by this stat, the Team of the Day are predicted to be India.
4. Powerplay Score
India's average score in their last T20I series (first four matches) against South Africa was 47.5. Meanwhile, Ireland's average powerplay score in their last 3 T20Is was 45. So predicting India to end up with more than 45 runs in the first six overs while Ireland should end with fewer runs during the powerplay overs.
5. Average Score
The average first innings score at this venue in the last 5 T20Is is 169.6. 123 was the lowest first innings total recorded in these five fixtures while the highest has been 193 which was chased down in 17.4 overs.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.