ICC World Cup 2015: India vs Ireland - Quick flicks of the match

India registered a comfortable 8 wicket win over Ireland today

Let him hit off the front foot!

Towards the end of the 14th over of the Irish innings, skipper Dhoni had a piece of advice for Ravindra Jadeja, from behind the stumps. ‘Aage se maarne de..,’ commented Dhoni to his left-armer. In the very next ball, not following instructions, Jadeja bowled a half-tracker, giving enough time for the batsman to rock back and pull it over the mid-wicket for six. As the ball flew into the stands, one could hear Dhoni lament over the stump mic, ‘Aage se...’

Niall’s favorite opposition

It came as no surprise when Niall O’Brien scored a run-a-ball 75 against India on Tuesday. Often overshadowed by his brother Kevin’s heroics, Niall told the world once again, why India was his favorite opposition. Before the game at Hamilton, Niall had a half century against India at Belfast in 2007, and a fighting 46 at Bangalore during the previous edition of the Cricket World Cup.

The drop

Shikhar Dhawan was dropped early on by Hashim Amla during India’s game against South Africa at Melbourne. Unfazed by that incident, the left-hander had gone on to score a massive century that eventually sealed the match for India. Against Ireland, while chasing a target of 260, Dhawan got dropped once again at point, on 10. Irish skipper, Wil Porterfield attempted a magnificent catch – failing to hold on to the ball as he fell to the ground.

4, 6, 4, 4...

Starting from the fourth ball of the seventh over, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma went on a rampage, scoring eighteen off four consecutive delivers. Sharma was the one to start, with a boundary through the covers and lofted six over long-off. In the next over, his partner Dhawan danced down the track and cut one through point for four and followed it up with another boundary straight down the ground.

Dhoni’s Big Cat day

By winning his 9th consecutive World Cup ODI, MS Dhoni on Tuesday, joined the illustrous company of Clive ‘Big Cat’ Llyod. Llyod had achieved the feat across two World Cups in 1975 and 1979. Dhoni’s record had started with his win over the West Indies at Chennai in 2011, and is likely to continue, considering India have two more sure shot games left in the competition. If Dhoni makes it 10, then he will become second only to Ricky Ponting (24) on that list.