INDIA, AUSTRALIA OPEN WITH DOMINANT VICTORIES; UGANDA GETS IT'S 1ST WIN AT CRICKET'S T20 WORLD CUP

AP

 WESTBURY, New York (AP) — Jasprit Bumrah and India's pace attack did most of the damage before Rohit Sharma scored a 37-ball half-century to steer the team to an eight-wicket win over Ireland on Wednesday at the Twenty20 World Cup.

Sharma plundered four boundaries and three sixes before retiring hurt for 52. Rishabh Pant added 36 not out off 26 balls as India reached 97 for 2 in 12.2 overs after routing Ireland for 96.

Allrounder Hardik Pandya took 3-27 for India while Bumrah (2-6) and left-armer Arshdeep Singh (2-35) chimed in to ensure pace accounted for eight of the 10 Irish wickets.

India next plays fierce cricket rival Pakistan in the marquee match of the league stage on Sunday.

“Early wickets set the tone for us,” Sharma said. “It was good to spend time on this wicket, although it didn’t change too much in the second innings. We will prepare for the Pakistan game as if the conditions will be similar.”

In Wednesday’s later games, Uganda secured its first victory in a T20 World Cup match in a low-scoring thriller against Papua New Guinea at Guyana, and Marcus Stoinis posted a half century and took three wickets as 2021 champion Australia opened with a 39-run win against Oman.

India took four fast bowlers into its tournament-opening game in New York, noting the inconsistent bounce in the pitch at the venue where South Africa routed Sri Lanka two days earlier.

It paid off immediately, with Arshdeep causing havoc under overcast conditions to remove both openers and have Ireland reeling at 9-2.

Pandya went in as first change and struck immediately, bowling Loran Tucker (10) and having Curtis Campher (12) caught behind.

Gareth Delany provided some resistance and top-scored with 26, the only Irish batter to cross the 20-run mark, and put on 27 runs with Joshua Little (14).

In a top-order reshuffle, former skipper Virat Kohli opened for India with Sharma but the move backfired when he was caught at third man attacking Mark Adair (1-27).

India's second-wicket pair added 54 off 44 balls before Sharma retired hurt after being struck on the right arm.

Returning to international action after nearly 18 months out since a car accident in late 2022, Pant finished off the match with a reverse-hit six.

Uganda's first win

Uganda dismissed Papua New Guinea for 77 but had to work extra hard for victory, losing its first three wickets by the start of the third over in reply and then slipping to 26-5 before rallying to reach 78-7 with 10 balls remaining.

Riazat Ali Shah's 33 was more than double the highest score by any other batter in the match in difficult, uneven conditions, but he was out with Uganda three runs away from victory.

He had two big reprieves — chopping an inside edge just over his stumps before he'd scored with Uganda on 8-3 and again when the total was 35-5 when Charles Amini dropped a regulation catch in the ninth over.

Uganda rallied to set up victory with a 35-run sixth-wicket partnership between Riazat and Juma Miyagi (13) before a runout added an extra element of tension at the end.

“First win of a World Cup is a special win for us,” Riazat said. “It was not easy to bat on this wicket ... our plan was just to stay in and take our time.”

Stoinis sets up Australia's win

Australia posted 164-5 and then restricted Oman to 125-9 at Barbados in its tournament opener but it wasn't a straightforward win.

The Australians were in spot of bother when Mehran Khan dismissed skipper Mitchell Marsh for 14 and Glenn Maxwell for a golden duck on consecutive balls to make the total 50-3 in the ninth over.

Stoinis took a single off the hat-trick ball and then set about accelerating Australia's run rate in a 102-run stand with opener David Warner.

Stoinis had a reprieve in the 15th over when a fielder caught him in the deep but fell back over the boundary, giving the batter six runs. It was the first of four sixes in that over that cost Mehran 26 runs.

Warner became Australia's highest scorer in T20 internationals before he was out for 56 off 51 balls. Stoinis finished unbeaten on 67 off 36.

“Maybe a few cobwebs for us, but we're better for the run," Stoinis said. “We got the win, some boys spent some time in the middle and everyone got a bowl.”

Left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc (2-20) struck in the first over and the Australian bowlers steadily reduced the threat from Oman with regular wickets. Stoinis returned 3-19 to complete a player-of-the-match performance.

INDIA, THE BIGGEST PROMOTER OF T20 CRICKET, IS DETERMINED TO END A WORLD CUP TITLE DROUGHT

Kohli. AP Photo

 NEW DELHI (AP) — In the ever-growing Twenty20 cricket landscape, India boasts the richest and most-watched league in the world. Yet all that investment and attention hasn't translated into international success for India's national team.

Rohit Sharma’s India squad travels to the T20 World Cup in the United States and Caribbean in search of a second title to end a long drought.

Undoubtedly, the Indian Premier League is flush with cash and talent, attracting the best cricketers from across the world.

Since the advent of IPL, though, India hasn't lifted the World Cup trophy.

After winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, India has only reached one more final — losing to Sri Lanka in 2014.

The title drought crosses formats, too. India last won an International Cricket Council title in 2013 – the Champions Trophy in England. It last lifted the Cricket World Cup in the 50-over format in 2011.

Last year was an exceptional one in that sense – India lost the World Test Championship final to Australia in England and, a few months later, also lost the 50-over World Cup final to Australia, this time on home soil.

That caused major anguish in a cricket-mad country of 1.4 billion, considering India was on a 10-0 winning streak and a hot favorite going into the final.

Seven months later, Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli are leading the campaign in what in all probability will be their last T20 tournament in India's blue.

Sharma has been a part of every Indian squad at the T20 World Cup. Kohli made his debut in the 2012 edition, making this his sixth attempt at the title.

Kohli has scored 1,141 runs at an average of 81.50 and strike-rate 131.30 in his 27 games at the tournament. Sharma has scored 963 runs in 39 games at a strike rate of 127.88.

Both players missed all of India's T20 internationals between the 2022 semifinal loss in Australia and January of this year, leading to some speculation they'd miss out on the 2024 World Cup starting June 1.

That was dispelled by both BCCI secretary Jay Shah and chief selector Ajit Agarkar. Now, there will be big focus on their contributions – in terms of runs and strike-rate.

Sharma only managed 417 runs for Mumbai Indians in the club's unsuccessful 2024 IPL campaign. Kohli, meanwhile, topped the run charts for Royal Challengers Bengaluru with with 741 runs runs in 15 matches, avering 61.75. But his strike-rate earlier in the season was criticized by some TV broadcast analysts.

In a news conference to confirm the India squad, Agarkar brushed off any concerns regarding Kohli’s strike-rate.

“There’s a difference between IPL and international cricket,” Agarkar said. “You need experience as the pressure of a World Cup game is different. You (only) try to take positives from what is happening in the IPL.”

Kohli opens the batting for his IPL franchise but goes in at No. 3 for India in T20s. It has led to a significant debate over his batting position for the World Cup because it holds the key to India’s XI.

Should Kohli continue to bat at No. 3, Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the innings with Sharma. India will then have to play with only four specialist batters including Suryakumar Yadav, the world’s top-ranked T20 batter.

Allrounder Hardik Pandya and first-choice wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant would slot in next, with bowling allrounders to follow.

If Kohli opens with Sharma, it allows for an extra batter in the middle order and likely makes room for Shivam Dube, who has impressed selectors with his power hitting in the IPL and strike rate of 162.29.

Dube can also bowl useful medium pace if needed, and could provide backup to Pandya.

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will lead a bowling attack that will contain four spinners, including left-arm all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzendra Chahal complete the line-up.

“I asked for four spinners,” Sharma explained. “Most of our matches will start at 10-11 a.m. (and) we expect all-rounders to do a job for us. It gives us a variety of combinations to explore depending on the opposition.”

India begins its World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5, then faces fierce rival Pakistan in New York on June 9 in what could be the highlight of the group stage. India will play the U.S. on June 12 and Canada on June 15.

While it is a seemingly straight-forward road for India in the first round, the tension to end a prolonged title drought will grow once it reaches the West Indies for the Super Eight stage.

- CHETAN NARULA