As expected ‘Dhoni’s Devils’ brought the high-flying Irish down to earth in their much anticipated Group ‘B’ fixture of the ICC World Cup. After their opening and middle order batsmen wielded the willow to good effect, Ireland simply ran out of steam in the death overs to end up playing second fiddle to the defending champions. It was a virtual stroll in the park for India when they began their reply as their frontline batsmen led by the flashy Shikhar Dhawan and the stylish Rohit Sharma got among the runs and toyed with the Irish attack. With five wins in succession and every player throwing his weight around, it cannot get any better than this. The big question is will Team India hold its nerve and go on to emulate the West Indies and Australia in bagging the Cup for a second straight time?
N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
