T20 World Cup 2024: India renew fielding medal ceremony with a twist following Ireland victory

In the T20 World Cup 2024, Team India (IND) is off to a fantastic start. The team’s opening match in the competition was played in New York on June 5 against Ireland (IRE). The Men in Blue took eight wickets to win the match after restricting the opposition to 96 runs in the first innings and reaching the mark in 12.2 overs.

Team India carried on the custom of awarding a prize medal to the match’s top fielder after the game. The team continued this trend in the ODI World Cup 2023, with videos of the match going viral on social media.

Following the match against Ireland, Mohammed Siraj and Rishabh Pant were put forward by India’s fielding coach, T. Dilip, as the two medal contenders. But the fielding coach added an intriguing twist this time. The fielding coach made the decision to provide a young fan with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enter Team India’s dressing room and present the victor with a medal rather than inviting a cricket great or summoning other coaches in the setup. The renowned leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal joined the little fan to cap it all off.

Also visible is a cute little exchange between the young fan and Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh, who is currently on a roll. Notably, the little fan disclosed to Singh during their conversation that his father was a major fan of the pacer. This little child from New York eventually handed out the fielding medal. The frontline pacer, Mohammed Siraj, was given the coveted medal during the first game.

Watch the fielding medal ceremony for Team India here:

Guess what’s back 😎

The fielding medal 🏅 for #TeamIndia‘s first match of #T20WorldCup includes an adorable fan moment 🤗

And the medal goes to…🥁

WATCH 🎥🔽 – By @RajalArora | #INDvIREhttps://t.co/TmByZCPBh5

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 6, 2024

India wins the opening match of the tournament by dominating Ireland.

Regarding the match, on Wednesday, June 5, the eighth game of the tournament took place at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York between India and Ireland. After losing the toss, Ireland elected to bat first to start the match.

Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling scored five and two runs, respectively, to start the team. Ireland scored 96 runs in the first inning, led by 12 runs from Curtis Campher and 26 runs from Gareth Delany. Lorcan Tucker added 10 more runs to the score.

Also read: Reports: T20 World Cup matches in New York will remain despite pitch issues

Hardik Pandya took the most wickets for India, taking three, to lead the team. Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj each got one wicket, while Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah each claimed two. With the intention of chasing down the pitiful total, Rohit Sharma got India off to a strong start, scoring 52 runs in 37 deliveries. Rishabh Pant also managed to stay undefeated with a score of 36 runs, as India won the match by eight wickets.