LONDON, England, CMC – On the back of Zaheer Khan’s four-wicket haul and a half-century by Rohit Sharma, defending champions India predictably cruised past Ireland by eight wickets in their ICC World Twenty20 Group A match yesterday.

Sent to bat, Ireland struggled to 112 for eight off 18 overs and India replied with 113 for two off 15.3 overs for an easy win at Trent Bridge ahead of their Super-8 clash with West Indies on Friday.

Andrew White (29) provided the biggest resistance among the Irish batsmen in the rain-reduced fixture.

Pacer Khan, on the comeback trail after a shoulder injury, snared for four 19 off three overs, supported by left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (2-18).

Opener Sharma, with 52 not out off 45 balls, led the run-chase for India.

He shared in a 77-run first-wicket stand with Gautam Gambhir (37) and the Indians won with 15 balls to spare.

“It feels good to be in Super 8. Now on there won’t be any easy games,” India’s captain Mahendra Dhoni said.

In spite of the defeat, Ireland also advance to the Super-8s and play New Zealand on Thursday at Trent Bridge.

India will play their Super-8 opener at Lord’s on Friday against West Indies, who lost their last group game to Sri Lanka on yesterday.