New York, Jun 5: India beat Ireland by eight wickets in their opening Group A match of the T20 World Cup here on Wednesday.

Captain Rohit Sharma top-scored with a 37-ball 52 before he retired hurt while wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant chipped in with 36 not out off 26 balls as India chased down the target of 97 with 46 balls to spare.

Earlier, India’s pace quartet, led by Hardik Pandya, produced a dominant effort on a spicy pitch to bowl out Ireland for 96.

Pandya (3/27) led India’s effort with the ball and he received able support from Arshdeep Singh (2/35) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/6) after skipper Rohit elected to bowl first in their tournament opener.

Brief Scores:

Ireland: 96 all out in 16 overs (Hardik Pandya 3/27, Arshdeep Singh 2/35, Jasprit Bumrah 2/6).

India: 97 for 2 in 12.2 overs (Rohit Sharma 52 retired hurt, Rishabh Pant 36 not out).

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Imphal (PTI): People protesting the death of two children in a recent bomb blast in Manipur clashed with security forces during a torch rally in the state capital Imphal, police said.

Two children died in a bomb blast at Tronglaobi in Bishnupur on April 7. The Imphal Valley districts have been witnessing daily protests over the incident.

A seven-km-long torch rally was brought out from Mayai Lambi to Keishamthong in Imphal West district on Monday night, but the participants turned violent and clashed with the security forces, a police officer said.

Security forces fired several rounds of tear gas shells in Keishamthong area after hundreds of protesters defying curfew demanded they be allowed to proceed for another 200 metres towards Keisampat area, which is close to the Lok Bhavan and the BJP state office, he said.

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Orders prohibiting the movement of any individuals outside their respective homes are in force in all the five valley districts from 5 pm to 5 am.

"Protesters pelted the security forces with stones and iron pellets from catapults, endangering the lives of the heavily outnumbered security forces," the officer said.

Manipur Police have, meanwhile, arrested 19 people for violating curfew and committing offences, including blocking roads and damaging public property, in the Greater Imphal area. They were nabbed from different parts of Imphal West district on Sunday, a police statement said.

In the Ukhrul district headquarters, a candlelight vigil was held on Monday night to honour the two Tangkhul Naga civilians who were killed in an ambush in TM Kasom area in the district on April 18.

Various civil society organisations from both the valley and hill areas strongly condemned the brutal killings, alleging that the victims were shot by Kuki militants using sniper rifles.