ICC Cricket WC 2015: India vs Ireland - As it happened...

Welcome to our live cricket blog for the Pool B clash between India and Ireland at Hamilton.

India beat Ireland convincingly by eight wickets in a Pool B encounter to continue their winning streak in the World Cup. If R Ashwin was the pick among the Indian bowlers then Shikhar Dhawan slammed a ton to continue his purple patch.

India Innings

Over 36.5 || Score 260/2

Kohli played an expensive cover drive to hit the winning runs for India as they beat Ireland convincingly by eight wickets. While chasing the total of 259, Indian openers gave a solid start by adding 174 runs for the first wicket. Dhawan was the hero of the match as he slammed a magnificent ton.  

Over 36 || Score 254/2

A boundary each from the willow of Kohli and Rahane as 11 came from the over. And with that India crossed the 250-run mark. India need 6 runs from 14 overs.

Over 35 || Score 242/2

Off the last ball, Rahane got the thick outside of his bat as the ball crossed the boundary rope in no time. India need 18 runs from 15 overs.

Over 34 || Score 236/2

Third ball by Cusack was short and wide and Kohli played a powerful cut shot as the ball raced towards the boundary rope. Eight off the over. India need 24 runs from 16 overs. 

Over 33 || Score 228/2

Mooney back into the attack. Expensive shot towards cover by Rahane to collect his third boundary. Effortless shot by the classy batsman. Off the fifth ball he played the same shot to get another boundary. What a timer of the cricket ball he is. Ten from the over. India need 32 runs from 17 overs.

Over 32 || Score 218/2

Rahane played a cracking cut shot off Thompson towards point to get a boundary. Eight from the over. India need 42 runs from 18 overs.

Over 31 || Score 210/2

Off the fifth over, Rahane played a classy straight drive to get his first boundary. Kevin O'Brien and Thompson are bowling in tandem for Ireland. India need 50 runs from 19 overs.  

Over 30 || Score 203/2

Kohli played a super straight drive to collect his first boundary.  Thompson leaked seven in the over as India crossed the 200-run mark. India need 57 runs from 20 overs and they have eight wickets in hand. 

Over 29 || Score 196/2

It's a good time for Rahane to spend some time in the middle to get some more runs under his belt before the quarter-finals. Five from the over.  

Over 28 || Score 191/2

Immediately after completing his ton Dhawan played a rash shot to throw away his wicket. Thompson is the one who picked the wicket of the centurion. Ajinkya Rahane is the new man in. Eight came from the over.     

S Dhawan c Porterfield b Thompson 100 (85b)

Over 27 || Score 183/1

Dhawan played the ball towards on side to complete his hundred. It's Gabbar's 2nd ton in the on-going World Cup. The southpaw took 84 balls to reach the three figure mark, laced with 11x4 and 5x6.  

Over 26 || Score 178/1

Kohli opened his account after playing nine dot balls. Five runs came in the last two overs. Dhawan is still on 97. 82 runs required off 24 overs.

Over 25 || Score 174/1

Thompson strikes, Rohit Out! In trying to guide the ball towards third man, Rohit got the thick inside edge of his bat as the ball crashed into his stumps. Virat Kohli is the new man. Two from the over.    

RG Sharma b Thompson 64 (66)

Over 23 || Score 172/0

Dhawan has started smashing the bowlers all over the park. He is looking in a hurry now to finish off the match as soon as possible. Dhawan is mere four runs shy of his 2nd hundred in the tournament. 20 runs came in the last two overs.   

Over 21 || Score 152/0

Dhawan welcomed the bowler by hitting him for a six off the first ball he bowled. Two more singles from the over as eight came from it. In the meanwhile, India have crossed the 150-run mark as well. 

Kevin O'Brien is set to bowl his first over.

Over 20 || Score 144/0

In this over, Dhawan danced down the track to launch Dockrell for a six over cow corner. Indian openers are looking unstoppable at the moment. Ten from the over.  

Over 19 || Score 134/0

Rohit Sharma clobbered Stirling for a six over extra covers to complete his fifty in style. The offie gave nine in the over.

Over 18 || Score 125/0

Dhawan is trying innovative shots, but there is not need to play such a risky shots. Four singles from the over.      

Over 17 || Score 121/0

Dhawan took a single off the 2nd ball to complete his fifty. Gabbar then celebrated his half-century by hitting Stirling for six and boundary in the over. 14 runs came from it. 

Over 16 || Score 107/0

Ireland skipper is falling short of ideas or may be resources. Cusack and Stirling are bowling at the moment. Four from the over.  

Over 15 || Score 103/0

India crossed the 100-run mark in the 15th over. A solid start by Indian openers while chasing a total of 259. India need 157 more runs from 35 overs. 

Over 14 || Score 99/0

Three times in the over the ball crossed the boundary rope. Two 4's came from the bat of Dhawan, whereas, one came from byes. Another good over for India as 13 runs came off it.

Over 13 || Score 86/0

Three singles off the first four balls. Single off the next. In the last came a boundary from Dhawan's willow as he reached to 37.

Over 12 || Score 78/0

Ireland bowlers are not at all troubling the Indian openers as they are literally milking them at the moment. Four from the over.

Over 11 || Score 74/0

Spin from both the ends as Paul Stirling has also been brought into the attack. Good opening over from the offie as one run came off it. 

Over 10 || Score 73/0

Spinner Dockrell has been given the ball. Second ball, and Rohit smacked the bowled for a six over cow corner. With that Rohit crossed the 4000-run mark in the ODI cricket. 11 runs from the over. 

Over 9 || Score 62/0

Stuart Thompson has come as the first change bowler. And Dhawan welcomed him with a six over mid-wicket before getting a boundary off the next. In the mean time India crossed the 50-run mark as well. Expensive opening over first up by the medium pacer as leaked 18 from it.

Over 8 || Score 44/0

Dhawan smashed two 4's off the first two balls. Cusack conceded eight runs from the over.

Over 7 || Score 36/0

Dhawan dropped once again. He played the shot in the air towards point, Porterfield tried his best to take the catch by diving full length towards his left but couldn't hold on to it. In the last two balls Rohit hit a boundary and a six as 13 runs came from the over. 

Over 6 || Score 23/0

One run came off the first five balls. Tight over by Cusack as no run came off the last ball as well. But a steady start by the Indian openers. 

Over 5 || Score 22/0

Indian openers are not looking in a hurry to score runs quickly. They are taking their time to settle down first. But at the same time giving the right treatment to the loose balls. Off the last ball Dhawan played a cracking cover drive to score his 2nd boundary.   

Over 4 || Score 16/0

Rohit played an exclusive straight drive to hit his 2nd boundary of the match. That was the only scoring shot from the over. 

Over 3 || Score 12/0

Mooney pitched the first ball too short and Dhawan gave it the right treatment by pulling him towards deep mid-wicket for a boundary. Dhawan Dropped! Off the last ball the southpaw played the ball straight into the hands of the bowler but he fumbled it down. Four from the over.   

Over 2 || Score 8/0

Off the second ball Dhawan clipped the ball towards on-side to open his account with a single. Tight over first up by the seamer, three runs came off it. 

Alex Cusack has the other new ball in hand.

Over 1 || Score 5/0

India opened their account with the help of wide. Off the fourth ball Rohit played a crispy shot towards point region to collect his first boundary. Five runs came from the over. 

John Mooney is set to bowl the first over of the innings as Rohit and Shikhar are in the middle to start of the proceedings for India.

Ireland Innings

Over 49 || Score 259/10

With the wicket of Cusack, India bowled Ireland out for 259 runs, after the minnows won the toss and decided to bat first. Even after a solid start by the Irish openers they kept losing wickets at regular intervals in the middle overs and wasted the opportunity to put up an imposing total on the board. For the records, it's the 5th consecutive match that India bowled the opposition out. 

Over 48 || Score 253/9

Two singles came off the first two balls. Off the fourth came anther run. And with that Ireland managed to touch the 250-run mark. Mohit Sharma is trying too many things here. Three more runs from the over.    

Mohit Sharma set to bowl the over.

Over 47 || Score 247/9

Can India restrict Ireland under 250? Four from the over.

Shami to continue.

Over 46 || Score 243/9

Dockrell Out! Umesh Yadav picked his first wicket of the match as Dockrell got the thick outside edge of his bat, which went straight inside Dhoni's gloves.What a comeback by Indian team. Alex Cusack is new man in. Off the last ball Mooney got his first boundary towards cover region.   

GH Dockrell c Dhoni b Yadav 6 (12b)

Over 45 || Score 234/8

Tight over by the seamer as he conceded mere a single from it. Dockrell and Mooney are in the middle for Ireland. 

Shami with his 7th over. 

Over 44 || Score 233/8

Dockrell charged Jadeja to hit a six over long on. That was the only scoring shot from the over as six runs came from it.

Over 43 || Score 227/8

Two wickets in the over. First Shami dismissed NJ O'Brien off the first ball. And then after a gap of two balls Thompson got run-out off a direct hit by Virat Kohli. Ireland have lost too many wickets in a heap here. Excellent over for India as only one run came from it and they got two wickets as well.      

SR Thompson run out 2 (2b)

NJ O'Brien c Yadav b Mohammed Shami 75 (75b)

Over 42 || Score 226/6

Jadeja picked up his first wicket. Wilson tried to sweep the bowler, got the top edge of his bat and Rahane took a simple catch at short fine leg. Good over by the spinner, four runs came from it. .  

GC Wilson c Rahane b Jadeja 6 (7b)

Over 41 || Score 222/3

Niall O'Brien smashed the bowler for a six over over long on to collect ten from the over. He is looking dangerous at the moment.  

Yadav has the ball in hand.

Over 40 || Score 212/5

Kevin O'Brien Out! Mohammed Shami has been called back into the attack and he straight away got the wicket of dangerous man Kevin O'Brien, who nicked one to the wicket-keeper. Gary Wilson is the new man in. Six from the over.

KJ O'Brien c Dhoni b Mohammed Shami 1 (2b)

Over 39 || Score 206/4

In the last ball off his final over Ashwin got the better of Andy Balbirnie to finish with the impressive figures of 10-1-38-2. But it's another expensive over as the offie conceded 12 runs off it. Meanwhile, Ireland have crossed the 200-run mark as well.    

A Balbirnie c Mohammed Shami b Ashwin 24 (24b)

Over 38 || Score 194/3

Ireland are now dealing in boundaries. Both the batsmen are hitting boundaries at will. 13 from the over as a boundary and a six came from it.    

Over 37 || Score 181/3

Ashwin has been brought back into the attack. But this time he went for runs as Niall O'Brien launched him for a six over long on to collect eight runs from the over.

Over 36 || Score 173/3

Ireland are in a very good position at the moment. Now they have a Batting Powerplay to play big shots to accelerate their run rate. And on top of it they have wickets in hand. Six runs in the last two overs.

Over 34 || Score 168/3

Another expensive over as 12 runs came off it. Both the batsmen collected a boundary each from it.

Mohit to continue.

Over 33 || Score 156/3

NJ O'Brien collected two boundaries in the over as Ireland crossed the 150-run mark. NJ O'Brien is middling the ball well. Andy Balbirnie is the new man in after the fall of Ireland's third wicket. Ten runs from the over.  

Raina with his ninth over.

Over 32 || Score 146/3

Mohit Sharma provide India their third wicket in the form of set opener Porterfield, when Dhoni called him back to bowl his second spell. The batsman came down the wicket to charge the bowler but only managed a leading edge of his bat as Umesh took a simple catch at mid-off. Fine over by the speedster. Two runs from the over.      

WTS Porterfield c Yadav b MM Sharma 67 (93b)

Over 31 || Score 144/2

Raina is doing more than decent job with the ball here. 8-0-27-1 are outstanding figures for a part timer. Two runs from the over. 

Over 30 || Score 142/2

50-run partnership for the third wicket between Niall O'Brien and Porterfield. O'Brien is now looking to accelerate the run-rate a bit as he collected two boundaries off the 30th over bowled by Rohit. 

Over 28 || Score 126/2

Two part-timers Rohit and Raina are bowling in tandem. Eight runs came in the last two overs as both the batsmen are happy dealing in singles.

Over 26 || Score 118/2

Rohit Sharma has been introduced now. He can bowl some off-spin. Five runs from his opening over.  

Over 25 || Score 113/2

Runs are coming in singles at the moment. Ashwin bowled another tight over. In fact Irish batsmen don't want to take any kind of risk against the offie. Three from it. 

Over 24 || Score 110/2

Porterfield completed his fifty with the help of a single. He used 65 balls to reach the mark with the help of four boundaries and a six. Five off it. 

Over 23 || Score 105/2

What a spell Ashwin is having at the moment. 7-1-16-1, outstanding. Two runs from the over.

Ashwin with his 7th over.

Over 22 || Score 103/2

Niall O'Brien played a risky shot to collect his first boundary. And with that Ireland have crossed the 100-run mark as well. Six from the over.

Over 21 || Score 97/2

Ashwin is displaying a superb spell of spin bowling. He is flighting the ball, pitching in right areas and troubling the batsmen immensely. Single from the over.

Over 20 || Score 96/2

Raina and Ashwin are finishing their overs quickly. They are not giving the batsmen much time to think. Three from the over.

Raina with his 3rd over. 

Over 19 || Score 93/2

To put more pressure on the batsmen Dhoni has set an attacking field. And Ashwin is looking dangerous at the moment. First maiden of the match.  

Over 18 || Score 93/2

Joyce Out! Raina gave India their second wicket. The southpaw went to the back-foot to cut the ball hard but missed the line completely and got clean bowled. India is back into the game. Niall O'Brien is the new man in for Ireland.

EC Joyce b Raina 2 (9b)

Over 17 || Score 92/1

Ashwin is not offering any room for the batsmen to free their arms. Another tight over by the offie. Single came off it.

Over 16 || Score 91/1

In-form batsman Ed Joyce has walked to the middle after the fall of first Irish wicket. Raina has been given the ball to roll his arm. Tight over first up by the part-timer as two came from it.

Over 15 || Score 89/1

Ashwin Strikes, Stirling Out! Stirling tried to play the bowler over long off boundary but couldn't time it well and Rahane took a simple catch near the boundary. Four from the over. 

PR Stirling c Rahane b Ashwin 42 (41b) 

Over 14 || Score 85/0

First Porterfield hit Jadeja for a boundary and then Stirling clobbered him for six over cow corner to collect 12 runs from the over. The opening stand is getting dangerous with every passing over.    

Over 13 || Score 73/0

Both the spinners are slow in the air, which is good ploy. Ashwin is troubling the openers as bit. Another fine over by the offie as four runs came from it. But India are still waiting for their first breakthrough.

Over 12 || Score 69/0

Spinners have put some break on the run flow. Not a single boundary came in the last three overs. Five from the over.

Over 11 || Score 64/0

Double bowling change as R Ashwin as been introduced along side Jadeja. It means spin from both ends. Offie conceded four runs from the his opening over.

Over 10 || Score 60/0

2nd bowling change! Spin for the first time as Ravindra Jadeja has been given the ball. Tight over first up by the spinner as he gave mere three runs in it.  

Over 9 || Score 57/0

Ireland openers are dealing in boundaries at the moment. And mind it they are playing proper cricketing shots. In the 2nd ball, Stirling played the bowler over long off fielder to collect a boundary. Good over by Mohit as that was the only scoring shot in it. 

Over 8 || Score 53/0

Stirling slapped another boundary as Ireland crossed the 50-run mark in no time. Excellent start by Irish openers. Six runs came from the over.

Over 7 || Score 47/0

India still hunting for their first breakthrough. It's a very good batting track. There is simply nothing for the speedsters. Off the third ball, Porterfield played another good looking shot towards cover region to collect 3rd boundary. Mohit is using the slower ball with good effect. But another expensive over as eight came from it.  

Mohit with his 2nd over.

Over 6 || Score 39/0

This is probably the slowest wicket in New Zealand. It means spinners will have a role to play here. Stirling played a expensive drive towards extra covers to get his second boundary. Six from the over.  

Shami to continue.

Over 5 || Score 33/0

First bowling change! Mohit Sharma has been introduced into the attack. In the last ball Stirling played a superb back-foot drive towards cover region to collect his first boundary. Ireland off to a flying start as they have added 33 runs in the first five overs. 

Over 4 || Score 27/0

Short ball by Shami and this time Stirling pulled the seamer for a six over mid-wicket. Both the batsmen are middling the ball well. Eight from the over.   

Over 3 || Score 19/0

Off the second ball Porterfield pulled Umesh for a six over mid-wicket before collecting a boundary of the next by driving him straight down the ground. 11 off the over.

Over 2 || Score 8/0

Tight over first up by Mohammed Shami as he gave mere three runs. 

Over 1 || Score 5/0

Off the fourth ball Ireland opened their account with the help of an unconvincing boundary over the slips cordon, which came from the bat of Porterfield. Five from the over.

Umesh Yadav is set to bowl the opening over of the match. William Porterfield and Paul Stirling are up in the middle to open the innings for Ireland.

India is playing the same XI, whereas, Ireland have made one change -- Stuart Thompson in for Andy McBrine.

Toss: Ireland have won the toss and elected to bat first. 

On the cusp of creating World Cup history, a supremely confident India will aim to crush a gutsy Ireland in their penultimate group encounter of the ICC cricket World Cup, here on Tuesday.

Having already qualified for the quarter-finals with four commanding wins, the defending champions are eyeing their fifth straight win in the tournament.

If India happen to win tomorrow, it will create a new World Cup record of winning nine straight matches at the global event, starting from their win against the West Indies in Chennai during the 2011 edition.

Their win against the Caribbeans in the previous match at Perth was their eighth successive win and that had equalled Sourav Ganguly's team's successful run during the 2003 edition in South Africa.

It will be another David vs Goliath contest where India will be looking to maintain their supremacy over Ireland, who are seeking fourth spot in Pool B to make the quarter-final grade.

The last time India met Ireland was in Bangalore during the last edition of the World Cup, where the hosts comfortably beat their opponents by five wickets as Yuvraj Singh emerged as the star performer with a 'five-for' and a half-century.

Such has been the impact created by the Mohammed Shamis and the Ravichandran Ashwins that none of the opposition team's batsmen have been able to post a total of 250 in the competition.

The tournament till now has been all about the resurgence of India's bowling unit which has taken 37 wickets amongst themselves in the four matches. If one takes out Bhuvneshwar Kumar's single wicket effort against UAE, the other five have shared the 36 among them.

While Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami with nine wickets apiece have been the two prime performers, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja with six scalps apiece have done their job with equal efficiency and sincerity.

One small piece of statistic will be testimony to the kind of influence the bowlers have had in the ongoing tournament, one should sample the economy rate of the five-pronged bowling attack.

The 'worst' economy rate, if one dare to say so, is that of left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, whose economy rate has been a very decent 4.51 runs per over.

The normally profligate Umesh Yadav, often accused for leaking runs and being inconsistent, has been fantastic upfront with an economy rate of 4.33.

Mohammed Shami, who has hit the best length among the Indian speedsters has given away only 100 runs in the 25 overs across three matches at a flat economy rate of flat 4 runs per over.

Most of the teams have failed to read Ashwin's off-breaks and the carom balls and the mean economy rate of 3.91 is a testimony to that.

But over and above everyone else is the young Haryana boy Mohit Sharma, who with his economy rate of 3.90 has been the 'Find of the Tournament' as far as India is concerned.

It will however be a test for the Indian bowlers at the short Seddon Park ground, where the side boundaries are barely 60 metres, something that the Indian batsmen won't mind.

With Mahendra Singh Dhoni anchoring the tricky chase in the last game against West Indies, all the top seven have now got at least one good innings under their belt.

Shikhar Dhawan will like to get a good hit against Ireland on what promises to be a belter of a track. After two good knocks of 77 and 137 against Pakistan and South Africa, Dhawan went a bit off the boil with low scores against UAE and the West Indies.

With not-so-great Irish attack in-front of him, the Delhi lad will be keen to add on to his 233 runs that he has scored in the tournament so far.

Virat Kohli (219 runs) does not have a single bad game so far as he has got off to starts in all the matches so far with the opening game century against Pakistan setting the tone for the tournament.1

Even during the game against West Indies, he scored a polished 33 before playing that ugly pull-shot off Andre Russell's bowling.

Suresh Raina and Ajinkya Rahane have both got one good innings each but would certainly like to contribute more. Both looked out of sorts against the Caribbeans at Perth and that is something that they would effectively like to change.

It will also be a chance for Indian batsmen to change their poor track record at the Seddon Park where they have won only two of the eight ODIs and Virender Sehwag's hundred in 2002-03 is the only three-figure mark achieved by an Indian batsman.

For Ireland, it will be a golden opportunity to make it to the last eight but for that they would have to either beat India tomorrow or Pakistan in the next game which is a tall order.

Ed Joyce, who has played ODIs for England has been their prime performer with 233 runs from four games while Andy Balbirnie with 219 runs hasn't been far behind.

Their mercurial big-hitter Kevin O'Brien has fired only once in the tournament so far and would ideally like him to do more. Ditto for his brother Niall O'Brien who played a good hand in their shock win over the West Indies.

However the Irish bowling in absence of pacer Boyd Rankin (who played a Test match during last Ashes tour) doesn't have the necessary firepower to trouble India. It will depend a lot on seamer-all-rounder Alex Cusack (6 wickets) and left-arm spinner George Dockrell (5 wickets) but they don't have enough experience or guile to stop a formidable Indian batting line-up.

In all, another contest heavily loaded in India's favour.

Teams (From)

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Ireland: William Porterfield (captain), Andy Balbirnie, Paul Stirling, Niall O?Brien, Kevin O? Brien, Ed Joyce, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, John Mooney, Max Sorensen, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young Andy McBrine.