India's dashing batsmen cruised to victory in last night's World Twenty20 dead rubber but not before Ireland had dug themselves out of an ignominious hole.

If the result meant nothing in that both teams had their tickets for the Super Eights, the Irish had to maintain a feeling that they belong in this company and disgrace didn't attend their efforts.

India won by eight wickets in a match reduced by rain to 18 overs a side, reaching their target of 113 with 15 balls to spare, but to prevail so smoothly they had to show respect for William Porterfield's outfit.

Ireland were missing Niall O'Brien and Trent Johnston, the main architects of Monday's buccaneering win over Bangladesh, and it looked for a while like they might be the victims of a morale-sapping mismatch.

They were outclassed, sure, but to recover from a woeful start with the bat should send them into today's Super Eights opener with New Zealand with ambitions fully intact.

Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma were presented with precious few gifts in their 75-run opening stand, Boyd Rankin and Alex Cusack both causing moments of alarm, but not until the victory was a formality did the breakthrough arrive.

Regan West (1-23) claimed the wicket of Gambhir, caught at backward point, in the 11th over, an act which only brought Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to the crease.

Sharma muddied Rankin's figures by smashing his final ball for six, but just as the fielding effort was showing signs of wear and tear, Jeremy Bray sprawled forward to give Kyle McCallan the prize scalp of Dhoni.

Thereafter it was only a case of who would deliver the decisive blow, and fittingly the honour fell to Sharma after reaching his half-century off 44 balls.

Phil Simmons has made no secret of his preference for experience and the policy yielded mixed results as Ireland batted first under lights.

If Bray's squeamish struggles against India's left-arm strike duo left Irish fans pining for Gary Wilson or Paul Stirling to be given a crack up front, White validated his coach's philosophy.

A veteran of 140 caps, he salvaged a respectable score that would have challenged a lesser foe than the World Twenty20 champions.

During an inventive knock of 29 off 25 balls, he never became pinned down by celebrated spinners and helped Ireland claw back some initiative in a game that was careering away from them.

Cusack and McCallan picked up the baton to ensure that 39 runs were plundered from the last three overs.

India were not nonplussed by this but it was pleasing to see Harbhajan Singh grimace in the final over as the Irish ran a greasy three to bring up their hundred, before McCallan reached the ropes with a reverse sweep and a fortunate edge.

Ireland were nothing like as competitive in the early stages, as Zaheer Khan hustled out three batsmen with the minimum of fuss. At 28-4 it seemed far-fetched to believe that Ireland would end up posting better than six-an-over.

Bray was first to go, clean bowled after six balls of fierce scrutiny in which he never looked likely to get off the mark.

It took 22 balls for Andre Botha to put away Ireland's first boundary but Niall O'Brien's replacement guided Zaheer to first slip in the same manner Porterfield had perished earlier in the over.

At the first sight of Pragesh Ojha Kevin O'Brien, feeling in mighty form after Monday's match-winning exploits, stepped way across the crease to belt the ball into the leg side, but only succeeded in edging onto his stumps.

Wilson and John Mooney dealt mainly in singles as they added 20 for the fifth wicket, and White continued in that vein until a catastrophic 15th over left him needing to up the tempo.

After Mooney was caught attempting the reverse sweep that has served him so well this week, West surrendered his wicket with a cardinal sin.

The big spinner neglected to run in his bat and was given his marching orders by the TV umpire after replays showed his foot was off the ground at the point the throw bounced off Dhoni's pads and into the stumps.

But White greeted Irfan Pathan's comeback with the first six of the night, over square leg, and with the help of Cusack and McCallan ensured this would be no bloodletting rout. Just the routine win that the world expected.