A week ago it would have been hard, if not impossible, to countenance the thought of an Ireland win over India. What a difference a week makes. After their stunning win over England, Ireland will believe they have the ability to take on anyone, and while India will undoubtedly be respected they will not be feared.Ireland are coming up against one of the most formidable batting line-ups in world cricket on a featherbed at the Chinnaswamy stadium, however, and as they prepare to do battle with a top six that packs a whopping 44,503 ODI runs between them (although 17,777 belong to one man) perhaps a little fear wouldn't go amiss. There are significant dangers lurking in India's bowling line-up too. Ireland's XI is likely to have no less than five left-handers in it, and despite the docile playing surface, the challenge of countering multiple offspinners - and possibly Piyush Chawla's googly too - will be a daunting task.
Ireland will insist they're up for it, and after Wednesday night's events, who could argue with them? But if Ireland appear a team transformed, that is only in the eyes of those not close to the setup. Several players, including captain William Porterfield and allrounder John Mooney, have insisted that the result achieved against England is the sort the team go into all their games believing they can pull off.That may be true, but whether they can convert belief into performance against the World Cup favourites, in the hothouse atmosphere sure to be provided by India's fanatical supporters, remains to be seen. India's fans were always going to pack the stands to watch their heroes, and tickets for this match sold out some time ago, but there is a lustre and sense of anticipation - not to mention the whispers of an upset - now that there might not have been before Kevin O'Brien's giant-killing epic.There was similar talk before India's World Cup opener against Bangladesh, but the imperious ease of their eventual win made that sound like a misguided fantasy. While India's opinion of Ireland may well have changed in the last week, they will expect nothing less on Sunday.It's almost superfluous to point out that all eyes will be on Kevin O'Brien when he comes out to bat on Sunday, but it could hardly be any other way after his record-breaking hundred. The burly allrounder was brutally dismissive of both pace and spin against England and there's no reason to think he'll play any differently against India - although this time he won't have the crowd's support when he does so.It's no secret that international sides have attempted to counter Yusuf Pathan's destructive big-hitting by targeting him with short-pitched fast bowling. Ireland lack the firepower to adopt the same approach and Boyd Rankin, the 6' 6" seamer, is the only bowler who'll come close to troubling him. If Yusuf gets going India could post a total out of the reach of even O'Brien's expansive reach.
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