Fielding medal returns as team India welcome special guest to handover the award

The fan-favourite fielding medal ceremony of team India returned after their opening game against Ireland in the T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Blue beat the Irish by eight wickets to get their tournament off to a triumphant start chasing down a modest target of 97 in 12.2 overs. During the fixture, India's bowling and fielding put a stranglehold on the opposition as Ireland were bundled out for their second-lowest total in the T20 World Cup of 96.

There were several brilliant performers in the field for the Rohit Sharma-led side with Rishabh Pant being phenomenal with the gloves on his international return while Axar Patel inflicted a brilliant caught and bowled dismissal of Barry McCarthy (0 off 6). However, it was the fast bowler Mohammed Siraj who took the honours for running out Gareth Delany (26 off 14) with his sharp throw.

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To present the award, the team management invited a young fan into the dressing room who handed over the award to Siraj. The young fan was elated to see all his favourite players all at once and posed for photographs with left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh.

Arshdeep bowled a brilliant spell with the new ball as he dismissed both the Irish openers captain Paul Stirling (2 off 6) and Andrew Balbirnie (5 off 10) in his second over with just nine runs on the board. Apart from him, Hardik Pandya was the pick of the bowlers for India with figures of 3/27 in four overs while Jasprit Bumrah picked up 2/6 in three overs.

Rohit Sharma finds form

Mohammed Siraj (1/13, 3 overs) and Axar Patel (1/3, 1 over) were also among the wickets as Indian bowlers put up a collective show to bundle out Ireland cheaply. In reply, the Men in Blue started the innings with the star duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. However, the latter failed to impress in his promotion at the top of the order getting dismissed for just 1 (5).

On the other hand, Rohit scored a magnificent 52 (37) with the help of four fours and three sixes. Rishabh Pant also chipped in with a good innings of 36* (26) clobbering three fours and two sixes. As a result, India won the match by eight wickets and earned crucial two points in Group A. They will next take on arch-rivals Pakistan on June 9 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York.