There will be plenty of focus on Hardik Pandya as he bids to again display his captaincy skills in his first series as India skipper in Ireland.
Pandya has stepped in as captain for the two-match Twenty20 International series as Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer instead focus on the rearranged Test against England.
There is an opportunity for the 28-year-old all-rounder to impress across two matches India will expect to dominate, having won each of their three prior T20Is against Ireland. Against no team do India have a better 100 per cent winning rate (also three matches versus Afghanistan).
Pandya was captain of Gujarat Titans in the 2022 Indian Premier League, leading the franchise to the title in their debut season.
And former India opener WV Raman, who also coached the women's team, is looking forward to seeing Pandya in a leadership role at international level for the first time when the series begins on Sunday.
"There will be excitement in this series because Hardik Pandya is becoming the new captain of the Indian team," Raman told News24 Sports.
"The way he captained an IPL team raises everyone's expectations. His habit of taking responsibility was the best thing I found in the IPL.
"The expectation is that he will continue in the same way, will motivate everyone nicely."
Indeed, this could even be considered an audition for Pandya to take on the role over a longer period.
Raman added: "He did good captaincy for an IPL franchise, but you will have to see how he leads the Indian team, because here there is a selection committee.
"We will have to see what is their convictions, ideas and views after seeing his captaincy, so that they can make a decision based on that."
Opportunity knocks
Ireland have lost their past two T20Is against Test-playing sides, while India are on a three-match winning run away from home, so there may be the opportunity for the tourists to take a look at some of the fringe members of their squad.
Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh were both called up for the recently finished South Africa series, but neither made an appearance as India stuck with their first-choice bowling attack, having fallen 2-0 behind.
Although that decision paid off, as they recovered to draw 2-2, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (45) and Avesh Khan (45) bowling more dot balls than any other players, Malik and Arshdeep will hope they are rewarded now for their patience.
Batters old and new
Rahul Tripathi is the latest player to be given a first call-up and will hope to impress with the bat, as he did during the IPL, scoring 413 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
But Dinesh Karthik, the 37-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, is also in line for a key role once more.
The veteran had not played for his country since 2019 ahead of the South Africa series, but he scored a boundary once every 3.9 balls against the Proteas – a leading rate – and appears likely to deputise for Pant with the gloves while again showing off his batting talents ahead of the World Cup.
'We weren't efficient' - Marquinhos bemoans PSG profligacy after Champions League exit
Marquinhos believes Paris Saint-Germain paid for their profligacy after suffering Champions League semi-final heartbreak against Borussia Dortmund.
Mats Hummels' second-half header from a Julian Brandt corner - the only goal at Parc des Princes - wrapped up a 2-0 aggregate victory for the Bundesliga side, who advanced to their third final and first since 2013.
Meanwhile, PSG's wait to land the elusive European crown goes on, despite a whopping 44 shots across the two legs, while they also struck the woodwork on six occasions - their overall tally of 14 the most recorded by a team during a single campaign.
Indeed, Luis Enrique's side failed to find the net in a home match for the first time since their 0-0 draw with Lorient in their first Ligue 1 match of the season, as their hopes of completing the treble vanished for another year.
"We lacked efficiency," Marquinhos told Canal+. "They scored two goals from corners and a through ball that we had worked on. We had to defend better. These are small details.
"We created chances, a lot more than them. We weren't efficient. They were efficient, they scored two goals and won both matches."
But despite the disappointment, the PSG skipper urged his team-mates to focus on the positives from their run to the semi-finals.
They recovered from a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United to finish second behind Dortmund in Group F, before overturning a 4-2 aggregate deficit to deny Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
"There are a lot of things to take away from this competition," Marquinhos added. "At the beginning of the season, no one believed that we would get this far. We've overcome a lot of obstacles, we shouldn't throw everything away now just because we're eliminated.
"You have to remember that it's a new team, with a new coach. There are some positives to bring back for next season. We wanted to go to Wembley for the fans and our families.
"You have to stay calm after the elimination. It's very hard. We've come very close. We had to win tonight and be more efficient."
Brighton 1-0 Aston Villa: Villans' top-four hopes stutter after late Pedro header
Aston Villa missed the chance to close in on a Champions League place after they were beaten 1-0 at Brighton.
Joao Pedro’s late header settled Sunday's contest at the Amex Stadium, the striker nodding in three minutes from time after Robin Olsen saved his initial penalty.
With fifth-placed Tottenham travelling to Liverpool later on Sunday, Villa could have taken a huge step towards sealing a place in Europe's top club competition with victory.
However, Unai Emery’s side remain fourth and seven points above Spurs, who have two games in hand, while Brighton climb to 11th.
The Seagulls carried the greater threat during a first half of few opportunities, with Simon Adingra stinging Olsen’s palms from distance.
Villa, who lost Morgan Rogers to injury midway through the half, also had Olsen to thank twice in first-half stoppage time. First, he kept out Adingra’s tame volley from a Pedro cross before also thwarting Pascal Gross from close range.
The hosts continued to look the more likely to break the deadlock after the interval. Olsen denied Pedro, while Julio Enciso fired narrowly over from distance.
Brighton thought they had taken the lead inside the final quarter when Gross turned in Igor’s cross from inside the six-yard box, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review adjudged Gross to be offside.
The visitors also had the ball in the net at the other end, though the offside flag denied John McGinn, who tucked away after the ball ricocheted kindly for him in the six-yard box.
However, it was Brighton who got the breakthrough in the 87th minute. Olsen guessed correctly to keep out Pedro’s penalty after Ezri Konsa tripped Adingra, but the Sweden international was helpless as the striker headed home the rebound to give Brighton victory.
Pedro hits the 20 mark
Brighton arrived in this contest off the back of successive defeats, and looking to avoid three on the spin for the first time since March 2022.
The Seagulls had also lost each of their previous five Premier League meetings with Villa, who could have secured their Champions League qualification with a win and a Spurs loss at Liverpool.
Gross almost broke the deadlock on his 200th Premier League start for Brighton – his strike ruled out following a VAR review – becoming only the second player to reach that figure after Lewis Dunk.
However, Pedro turned out to be the match winner as he became the first player to score 20 goals in all competitions in a single season for the Seagulls since Glenn Murray in 2016/17 (23).
Toothless Villa stumble
Villa – who were stunned by Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League on Thursday – were unable to capitalise on their opportunity to potentially secure their top-four place following an uncharacteristically quiet outing in front of goal.
Ollie Watkins had scored six goals in his last four appearances against Brighton – his highest tally against a single opponent – and had been directly involved in eight goals in his last five Premier League away games (scoring six and assisting two).
However, the England striker was unable to build on that momentum in a game where Villa registered just two shots on goal.
That was their lowest tally in a Premier League match since May 2016 against Newcastle United (also two), while they only registered fewer on record against Manchester United in August 2005 (one).
They should still have enough to secure a top-four place, but Emery’s team need to get over their hump.
IPL: Jadeja stars as CSK move into playoff places
Chennai Super Kings moved into the Indian Premier League playoff places after beating Punjab Kings by 28 runs in Dharamshala.
The reigning champions avenged their seven-wicket defeat by the Kings in Chennai four days earlier to climb to third place in the table with three games remaining.
After a slow start, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Daryl Mitchell's partnership brought 57 runs and settled CSK into their stride. Although MS Dhoni went for a duck, Ravindra Jadeja's late surge of 43 from 26 balls saw them close at 167-9.
Tushar Deshpande claimed Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw in the second over to stem the Kings' early momentum, while Jadeja (3-20) also took a quickfire double of Sam Curran and Ashutosh Sharma in the 13th over as the hosts finished well short of their target at 139-9.
Data debrief
In getting back to winning ways, CSK ended their five-game losing streak against the Kings, stretching back to 2021.
Despite going for a duck, Dhoni managed to make amends in the field. When he caught out Jitesh Sharma, he became the first player in IPL history to take 150 catches.
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