Ireland vs India, T20I series 2018 - Statistical preview

For Virat Kohli and team, the two-match T20I series against Ireland could serve as a perfect appetizer before a more gruelling tour of England commences. Having received Test status, the Irish side can't be completely written off, but an experience-heavy Indian side will require more than a gutsy performance from Gary Wilson's men if they intend to pose a serious challenge.

Ahead of the two games in Malahide, here are the important numbers -

1 - This will be the first instance of The Village, Malahide's Cricket Ground, hosting a T20I game between two Test-playing nations.

2 - This will be only the second time India face Ireland in a T20I game. The previous instance was way back in 2009, during the World T20 game that MS Dhoni's team won.

3 - Virat Kohli is on the verge of becoming the third batsman ever to complete 2000 runs in T20Is. With 1983 runs from 57 T20Is, he is currently behind Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum and Shoaib Malik as T20I's leading run-getter. If he achieves the feat, he will also be the fastest to reach the milestone.

4 - MS Dhoni, with 46 sixes, needs four more to complete a half-century of maximums in the T20I format. Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina are the three Indians ahead of him on the all-time list.

5 - Suresh Raina requires five sixes to reach 300 sixes in the T20 format. In 291 games, he has hit 295 to date. Rohit Sharma is the only Indian so far to have hit more than 300 sixes (302 in 284 games).

18 - Shikhar Dhawan requires a further 18 runs to complete 6000 runs in T20s. Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni are the other five Indians to have achieved the feat.

27 - The runs required by Ireland skipper Gary Wilson to complete 3000 international runs for his side. He will be the fifth from his country to achieve the feat.

100 - This will be India's 100th T20I since making their T20 international debut against South Africa in 2006. MS Dhoni, with 89 matches, has made the most appearances for the Men in Blue in the shortest format.