Deepak Hooda, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya excelled with the bat as India mocked Ireland’s bowling attack for a 109-run target and an easy seven-wicket win in the rain-hit opening T20I in Dublin on Sunday. ,
Hardik Pandya (24 off 12) and Hooda (47 not out on 29) shared a 50-run stand with 16 balls to spare to chase down a tight target of 108 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Notably, after being invited to bat first, Ireland scored 64* in a counter-attack from Harry Tector and posted a solid 108 for four in 12 overs. However, this did not mean that the Irish were overtaken by the talents of Pandya and Hooda, who played with the opposition attack.
India vs Ireland, 1st T20I match: Highlights
Regular opener Ishan Kishan (26) and his provisional opening partner Hooda scored 30/0 in the first 2.3 overs. However, Craig Young dismissed Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav (0) on back-to-back deliveries to deter India from chasing down the target of 109 at The Village.
Captain Pandya shook hands with the temporary opener Hooda and took off-spinner Andy McBrine to the cleaners. McBrine conceded 21 runs in his first over as the momentum moved towards India in the sixth over. However, Joshua Little struck in his second over to dismiss Hardik for 24 when India were 94 for 3. Dinesh Karthik walked in next and he, along with Hooda, ensured that India went ahead without any hiccups.
,@hudaonfire was selected #teamindia batsman and our top performer from the second innings #IREvIND pic.twitter.com/jsZsjxbTZ5
— BCCI (@BCCI) 26 June 2022
Earlier, India opted to bowl in cloudy conditions, but soon after the rain arrived, the start of the game was delayed by over two hours and 20 minutes. After the break, the game was reduced to 12 overs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar broke Ireland’s captain Andrew Balbirnie’s defense in the very first over. Captain Hardik Pandya then put himself into the attack in the second over and dismissed the dangerous Paul Stirling. After hitting the first ball over cover, Sterling went for the same shot but missed being caught at mid-off. Avesh Khan joined the party as he overtook Gareth Delany in his first over to leave Ireland for 22 for three.
Ireland managed to stage a spirited recovery thanks to Tector, who attacked the Indian fast bowlers, including debutant Umran Malik. He dragged his third ball to the leg side and it reached the boundary from the pad side of Lorcan Tucker (18 off 16). Two balls later, Tector played up a beautiful straight drive on a full delivery. Malik pulls the next one short but Hector is ready to hit a six.
17 runs came off the last over of the innings and scored a total of 100 as Tector hit Avesh for a four with a reverse hit and a full toss for six overs of deep cover. Hector scored his third T20I fifty to take Ireland to a competitive total.