Ashwin, Dhawan make it nine in a row
India took their winning streak in World Cup matches to nine, and also maintained their record of bowling oppositions out in this World Cup
India took their winning streak in World Cup matches to nine, and also maintained their record of bowling oppositions out in this World Cup
Scorer: Chandan Duorah | Commentator: Karthik Krishnaswamy
9.00pm Alrighty, people. It has been a pleasure, as always, to bring you this game. Do join us for tomorrow's games, and the rest of the tournament, and for every match we bring live to you from now till the end of time, and keep sending in your comments. Until next time, ta ta!
MS Dhoni: "One of the coaches was telling me [about India taking 50 wickets in five matches]. It's a good stat to have. It means the bowlers are really doing the job for us. It's a remarkable difference, they've really stepped up. Not just the three fast bowlers, the spinners as well, and whenever we've had to use part-timers they've done a good job. Looks like a happy unit. I knew, even after 4-5 overs, I could bring the spinners on right away if I wanted, but I still went ahead with the fast bowlers in the first 10 overs, then I felt let's get the most out of this game, Suresh also did really well, a lot of left-handers, and he got through his 10 overs. At times I just try to tell them what my gut feel is [when asked about yelling out instructions to his bowlers], whatever I can read from behind with the initial movements of the batsman. Hindi is the ideal language, because everyone understands but the batsman doesn't. We have been here for over four months, we had to sacrifice somewhere, and that was the intensity in the ODI series, especially after the effort we had put in during the Test series. I knew it would be back when the World Cup started. Even this game was a challenge, a lot of them are jetlagged and sleep-deprived. I'm glad all of us have stepped up. It feels good. Everyone is happy we have been able to win nine consecutive games, we just have to take the momentum forward. [Twitter question - importance of opening partnership] Both of them have got runs, the icing on the cake was for both of them to get runs at the same time. I felt both of them batted really well. Initially I thought it could be a difficult wicket, it was stopping, but the dew made it a little better later on."
William Porterfield: "There's a lot of good things to take, the first innings, slightly disappointing because we could have got an extra 15-20, but you have to give a lot of credit to them, kept fighting and coming back, and made it look very easy with the bat. [Ashwin] bowled very well, mixed his pace very well, there was a bit of grip as well. We just lost a couple of wickets and that set us back. It's all about being mentally fresh for that game in Adelaide, it's a winner takes all for us."
Venki: "India are now strong contenders to win the World Cup now after much improvement to their bowling.The only reason India can lose any of the coming matches now on is just because of the lack of hard-hitting batsmen in the bottom of the line up like Maxwell , Miller or Anderson.."
Barath: "Why isn't Ashwin the Man of the Match?He bowled brilliantly on a pitch that was supposed to be a batting paradise and brought India back into the game."
Jaykumar: "Karthik, not a fan of the 24 Series?" -- I only like Test series and ODI series. And, of course, The Wire.
Shikhar Dhawan is the man of the match. Sir Richard Hadlee gives him his trophy. "I've spent lots of time to figure out my game," Dhawan says. "I'm used to the bounce and pace and I'm enjoying my game here. Everyone has spent a lot of time here, the communication of the team has gone up. With the time boys have learned, got experience. It's lovely when we're on the field, seeing the bowlers bowling so quick and in the right areas. I always mark myself 10 out of 10 [when asked to rate his innings]. I'd say I played more creatively, I enjoyed that creativity, playing my shots, using bowlers' mind." 8.40pm Five out of five, and nine in a row in the World Cup. India were always winning this one. Ireland had their moments with the bat, and could have got 300, but their bowlers would probably have struggled to defend even that against this batting line-up.
Harry: "Does Cusack look a bit like Xander Berkeley?" -- I have no idea who he is, but that doesn't stop me from agreeing with you.
India hustled Ireland with speed and pace: not pace bowling or impressive readings on the speed gun, bouncers and yorkers, but a foot-on-the-pedal approach with bat and ball which left Ireland with little time to think
When the pitch is flat and the opponent is well-drilled and playing their A game, this Ireland team does not yet have the depth of skill to challenge them
Stats highlights from the Group B match between India and Ireland in Hamilton
Plays of the Day from the India-Ireland World Cup Group B match in Hamilton