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Thursday, June 11, 2009 NOTTINGHAM: Defending champions India easily defeated cricket minnows Ireland by eight wickets in the last group A match of the World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge here on Wednesday.Chasing 113 runs, India achieved the easy target in 15.3 overs for the loss of only two wickets.Openers Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma provided a solid start by making 77 runs in 10.5 overs.Gambhir scored 37 with three fours and one six while Sharma was unbeaten on 52 with four boundaries and one six.Captain Dhoni could score only 14 runs while Yuvraj Singh was 3 not out.Earlier, After India's captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and put Ireland into bat, his bowlers did their job excellently well. Pacer Zaheer Khan grabbed four wickets for 19 runs while left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha claimed two for 18 and off-break bowler Harbhajan Singh took one wicket.For Ireland, top score was 29 made by Andrew White.The match was reduced to 18 overs-a-side after a delayed start due to rain.Both teams have already qualified for the Super Eights after knocking Bangladesh out of the competition.Ireland were without star batsman Niall O'Brien, resting a sprained ankle, and burly seamer Trent Johnson.
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