Ireland have had an outstanding run in the tournament so far having won three out of their four games in the competition. Having beaten West Indies, Zimbabwe and UAE, Ireland have a strong chance of making it to the quarter-finals. With India and Pakistan still left to play, Ireland captain William Porterfield is of the view that his side is ready for the tough challenges ahead.
“Every next game is our toughest game and now it happens to be India and we are looking forward to it,” Porterfield said. “We are in a good place now and we just have to bring that form into tomorrow. We have got two points up for grabs and we are looking to make it four out of five tomorrow. India have qualified, but I am pretty sure they will be looking to get the top spot in the group as well. I don’t expect them to come lightly at us and we will be ready for that.”
Ireland will face a power-packed Indian batting line-up that has been on a roll this tournament and Porterfield and co. have their plans chalked out. “We have got to try and restrict them with the ball and take wickets. The best way of restricting teams is taking those wickets. We need to go out there with that mentality throughout the 50 overs of taking wickets. Whatever we do in the first 10 overs is going to be big, be it with the bat or ball. We have to start the game well and get into it.”
Talking about Ireland’s quarter-final prospects, Porterfield said, “It is a nice position to be in. Before we came here, we set ourselves a goal of making it to the quarter-finals. We are in a good position now, but it doesn’t count for anything if we don’t keep getting good performances.
Hopefully, we do make the quarterfinals and keep pushing on as a country ourselves, the ICC will take notice and we will start looking at the next World Cup.”
By: BCCI
