Zaheer Khan wreaked havoc while Rohit Sharma continued his purple patch as a ruthless India decimated Ireland by eight wickets in a rain-marred inconsequential Group A tie of the Twenty20 World Cup at Nottingham.

Zaheer Khan (4/19) led the rout as India restricted a hapless Ireland to a mere 112 for eight in 18 overs last night and then went on to overwhelm the target in 15.3 overs with Rohit (52 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (37) making merry against the toothless Irish attack.

Put into bat after persistent rain had truncated the tie to an 18-overs-a-side affair, Ireland could not recover from Zaheer's early three-wicket burst and only four players managed double digit scores as the minnows barely crawled past the 100-mark.

With both the sides having already made it to the Super Eight stage, nothing really was at stake but India captain Mahendra Singh meant serious business when he walked out with the full-strength team.

And chasing a paltry 113 from 18 overs, India hardly broke a sweat with Gambhir and Rohit going great guns. Gambhir cut the first ball from Boyd Rankin through covers for a four to signal his intention. The left-hander
came dancing down the track to hit Kevin O'Brien through covers and then upper-cut Rankin over third man for a stunning six.