India vs Ireland: A Statistical Insight into an Uncommon Rivalry

Although the Indian cricket team is often pitted against traditional powerhouses such as Australia, England, and South Africa, matches against emerging teams like Ireland offer a unique perspective. Ireland, with fewer international fixtures compared to other nations, has built an intriguing record—especially in limited-overs cricket. In this post, we delve into the head-to-head statistics, ICC event performances, and format-specific records between India and Ireland, highlighting team achievements as well as individual brilliance.

Head-to-Head Overview

Despite the limited number of encounters between India and Ireland, the records clearly show India’s dominance across the formats they have met in.

Format	Matches	India Won	Ireland Won	Draw/Tie
TEST	__	__	__	__
ODI	3	3	0	0
T20	8	8	0	0
Total	11	11	0	0

Note: No Test matches have been recorded between these two sides so far.

ICC Events Performance

In ICC tournaments, India has consistently showcased its superiority over Ireland, leaving little room for contest.

Event	Matches	India Won	Ireland Won	Draw/Tie
ODI WC	3	3	0	0
T20 WC	2	2	0	0
Total	5	5	0	0

ODI Statistics

India and Ireland have faced off in three ODI matches—each a World Cup encounter where India has dominated every game.

Team Records in ODIs

Highest Team Scores

Team	Score	Opposition	Ground
India	260/2	vs Ireland	Hamilton
Ireland	259	vs India	Hamilton
India	210/5	vs Ireland	Bengaluru
Ireland	193	vs India	Bengaluru
Ireland	224/8	vs India	Belfast

Lowest Team Scores

Team	Score	Opposition	Ground
Ireland	193	vs India	Belfast
Ireland	207	vs India	Bengaluru
Ireland	259	vs India	Hamilton

Individual Achievements in ODIs

Most Runs

Player	Innings	Runs	Highest Score
Niall O’Brien	3	173	75
William Porterfield	3	158	75
Shikhar Dhawan	1	100	100
Gautam Gambhir	2	90	80*
Virat Kohli*	2	78	44*

Highest Averages

Player	Innings	Runs	Highest Average
Shikhar Dhawan	1	100	100.00
Gautam Gambhir	2	90	90.00
Virat Kohli*	2	78	78.00
Rohit Sharma*	1	64	64.00
Niall O’Brien	3	173	57.66

Most Wickets

Player	Innings	Wickets	Best Figures
Yuvraj Singh	1	5	5/31
Zaheer Khan	1	3	3/30
Md. Shami*	1	3	3/41
S. Sreesanth	1	3	3/50
Piyush Chawla	2	3	3/29

Best Economy in an Innings

Player	Matches	Overs	Economy
Sourav Ganguli	1	6	2.50
Ajit Agarkar	1	10	2.70
Piyush Chawla	1	10	2.90
Thinus Fourie	1	6.5	3.07
Yuvraj Singh	1	10	3.10

T20 International Statistics

In the T20 format, a total of eight matches have been played. India has maintained a clean sweep, while the Irish side continues to seek its first win.

Team Performances in T20s

Highest Team Scores

Team	Score	Opposition	Ground
India	225/7	vs Ireland	Dublin
Ireland	221/5	vs India	Dublin
India	213/4	vs Ireland	Dublin
India	208/5	vs Ireland	Dublin
Ireland	185/5	vs India	Dublin

Lowest Team Scores

Team	Score	Opposition	Ground
Ireland	70	vs India	Dublin
Ireland	96	vs India	Newyork
Ireland	132/9	vs India	Dublin
Ireland	139/7	vs India	Dublin
Ireland	152/8	vs India	Dublin

Individual Performances in T20s

Most Runs

Player	Innings	Runs	Highest Score
Rohit Sharma	4	201	97
Andy Balbirnie*	7	161	72
Deepak Hooda*	2	151	104
Harry Tector*	5	123	64*
Sanju Samson*	3	118	77

Best Strike Rate

Player	Innings	Runs	Best Strike Rate
Hardik Pandya*	4	75	261.93
Alex Cusack	1	12	200
Kl Rahul*	1	70	194.44
Ishan Kishan*	2	29	181.25
Rinku Singh*	1	38	180.95

Most Wickets

Player	Innings	Wickets	Best Figures
Jasprit Bumrah*	4	8	2/6
Kuldeep Yadav*	2	7	4/21
Yuzi Chahal*	3	7	3/21
Craig Young*	4	7	2/2
Peter Chase*	2	5	4/35

Best Economy in an Innings

Player	Economy
Jasprit Bumrah*	2.00
Siddharth Kaul*	2.00
Yuzi Chahal*	3.66
Jasprit Bumrah*	3.75
Bhuvneshwar Kumar*	4.00

Individual Records – ODIs & T20s

ODI Individual Records

Highest Runs in an Innings (ODI)

Player	Runs
Shikhar Dhawan	100
Gautam Gambhir	80*
William Porterfield	75
Niall O’Brien	75
Sourav Ganguly	73*

Highest Wickets in an Innings (ODI)

Player	Wickets
Yuvraj Singh	5/31
Piyush Chawla	3/29
Zaheer Khan	3/30
Md. Shami*	3/41
S. Sreesanth	3/50

T20 Individual Records

Highest Runs in an Innings (T20)

Player	Runs
Deepak Hooda*	104
Rohit Sharma*	97
Sanju Samson*	77
Shikhar Dhawan	74
Andy Balbirnie*	72

Highest Wickets in an Innings (T20)

Player	Wickets
Zaheer Khan	4/19
Kuldeep Yadav*	4/21
Peter Chase	4/35
Kuldeep Yadav*	3/16
Yazurveda Chahal*	3/21

FAQs

1. Has Ireland ever defeated India?
   Ireland has yet to notch a win against India across any format.
2. What is the biggest win of the India cricket team?
   On 15 January 2023, India registered its largest ODI victory by a margin of 317 runs against Sri Lanka.
3. Has Ireland beaten England in cricket?
   Yes, Ireland has managed to defeat England twice in ODIs and once in the T20 format.
4. Who is the CEO of Cricket Ireland?
   Warren Deutrom serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cricket Ireland.
5. Who is better, Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni?
   In terms of personal records, Virat Kohli is often seen as superior. However, when assessing team milestones and leadership, Dhoni’s impact sets him apart.

Conclusion

While India’s encounters with cricketing giants often steal the limelight, the limited matches against Ireland offer a refreshing glimpse into a different side of international cricket. With India winning all their head-to-head clashes—both in ODIs and T20s—the statistics underscore the disparity in experience and depth between the two teams. Nonetheless, the rare opportunities Ireland gets to play against the Men in Blue always add an extra layer of intrigue and promise potential upsets in the future.

Stay tuned for more detailed analyses and statistical breakdowns as we continue to explore the diverse narratives of international cricket.

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