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India won the toss and will bowl first, hoping to square the two-match T20I series against Ireland on the same Belfast surface used two nights ago. Captain Shreyas Iyer kept things straightforward at the toss: “Looks similar to game one, but you still have to read it quickly once the lights come on.”
With Washington Sundar and Prasidh Krishna rested, India have turned to two uncapped IPL performers. Suryansh Shedge – who topped the scoring for India A against Sri Lanka A last month – slots into the middle order, while 22-year-old quick Prince Yadav, known on the domestic circuit for sharp yorkers at the death, takes over the new-ball role. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi remains on the sidelines for now.
Iyer explained the thinking: “We liked what Suryansh and Prince did under pressure in the IPL. It’s a short tour, but chances still matter.” Bowling first, India again put faith in their chase, but also get a look at how the track behaves before committing with the bat.
Ireland, 1-0 up after a tight four-run win on Wednesday, are unchanged. Skipper Lorcan Tucker said simply, “No reason to fiddle when the lads did the job.” The hosts will also celebrate a personal landmark: Harry Tector makes his 100th T20I appearance. The 26-year-old admitted earlier in the week, “I never imagined the numbers creeping up this fast – you just keep playing and suddenly they tell you it’s a hundred.”
Though conditions are familiar, the pitch produced variable bounce late in game one, so totals around 160 have looked competitive. Former Ireland seamer Trent Johnston, on local television duty, believes the surface “won’t change dramatically, but the second innings could still skid a touch – especially for the quicks.”
Squads
Ireland: Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (capt, wk), Ben Calitz, Gareth Delaney, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Matt Hollard, Liam McCarthy, Jai Moondra.
India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Tilak Varma, Suryansh Shedge, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav.
First ball is due at 5.30 pm local time, weather permitting.
