India beat Ireland by 76 runs in Malahide. (Source: BCCI)
India beat Ireland in the first T20I at The Village, Dublin by 82 runs. The decision to send India in backfired for the Irish as the Indian batsmen ambushed them with ease. Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma did most of the damage with yet another century partnership. Balls were sent out of the fence repeatedly even as the Irish fielding let them down. The bowlers were equally guilty of bowling a wrong line and length as India ended up with 208/5 on the board. In reply, Ireland got off to a decent start and James Shannon slammed his maiden ODI fifty. However, the introduction of spinners turned the game on its head as wicket fell at regular intervals. Kuldeep Yadav (4/21) and Yuzvendra Chahal (3/38) ran riot as Ireland ended up with 132, falling short by a big margin.
Jasprit Bumrah is brought into the attack and strikes immediately by hitting the wicket with a perfect yorker. Dockrell moves away to get a big hit but misses the ball and is gone for 9. IRE- 126/9 in 17.1 ovs
BOWLED! Stuart Poynter gone for 7. He fails to read Kuldeep Yadav's googly and the ball disturbs the timber. What a fine spell of bowling by the 'chinaman'. Yadav finishes with figures of 4/21. IRE- 123/8 in 16 ovs
Stuart Thompson is gone for 12 and it is the third wicket for Kuldeep Yadav. He is really on top of the Irish batsmen. IRE- 114/7 in 15.1 ovs
Y Chahal (3/38) spinning a web around the Irish batsmen, picking up 2 wickets in 2 balls. First to go is Kevin O Brien for 10. Gary Wilson is stumped off the next ball for 5. IRE 96-6 in 13 ovs.
Kuldeep Yadav gets his man. James Shannon is out for a well-made 60. It was a quicker one, Shannon tries to sweep it but misses it completely. Umpire Mark Hawthorne raises the finger. IRE- 85/4 in 11.3 ovs
Simi Singh is gone for 7. Kuldeep Yadav gets his first wicket of the match. Meanwhile, James Shannon has also reached his maiden T20I fifty. IRE- 72/3 9.3 ovs
SIX! Shannon has got the measure of Chahal and lofts one over the mid-wicket for a six. With that hit 50 has come up for Ireland in the seventh over. They are still not out of this match.
Chahal has dismissed Balbirnie for 11. Tosses it up and Balbirnie dances down the track and goes for the big hit but misses it completely. But MS Dhoni doesn't miss these chances. IRE- 45/2 in 6.3 ovs
Despite losing an early wicket Andrew Balbirnie (10) and James Shannon 30 (21) are keeping it steady for the Irish. They need to keep the partnership going. IRE 43/1 in 6 ovs
James Shannon picks of one off the legs and deposits Hardik Pandya for a huge six over the deep mid-wicket region. Ireland finally get a move on. IRE- 37/1 in 5 ovs
Rohit Sharma has dropped a sitter. Bumrah bowls a good length delivery and James Shannon goes for the big hit but skies it straight up. Sharma comes running in from mid-on but fails to latch on to it. Shannon gets a life. It seems like a day of dropped chance. IRE 22/1 in 3.3 ovs
Jasprit Bumrah strikes on his second ball. Paul Stirling is gone for 1. Shortish delivery, outside the off-stump and Stirling rushes into the pull shot and gets a top edge. Kuldeep Yadav catches it with ease. IRE- 5/1 in 1.2 ovs
So the Irish have a daunting task on their hands. Chasing 209 against a potent Indian attack will not be easy. Paul Stirling and James Shannon at the crease. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the ball in hand.
So the Irish have a daunting task on their hands. Chasing 209 against a potent Indian attack will not be easy. Paul Stirling and James Shannon at the crease. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the ball in hand.
SIX of the last ball and India end their innings at 208 on the board. But what a final over it was. Three wickets for Peter Chase in the last over - First to go was MS Dhoni (11), followed by Rohit Sharma (97) and Virat Kohli for a second-ball duck. However, Hardik Pandya pulled off a helicopter shot off the last ball as India ended up with 208/5. Ireland need 209 to win in 20 overs.
200 comes up for India with a massive SIX by MS Dhoni. Hits the ball straight over the bowlers head and it goes all the way. The crowd are delirious. IND- 201/2 in 19 ovs
Suresh Raina is gone for 10. First wicket for Peter Chase. Shortish delivery around the rib cage and Raina fails to connect properly and is caught by Kevin O Brien. Massive cheers across the ground as MS Dhoni walks in. IND- 186/2 in 17.5 ovs
Shikhar Dhawan is gone for 74 (45). Kevin O Brien picks up the wicket. Stuart Thompon is third time lucky as he finally manages to take a catch. Much needed breakthrough for the Irish team. Suresh Raina walks in. IND- 160/1 in 16 ovs
The openers have been in devastating form. 150 has come up but without the loss of a single wicket. Can they all the way. Five more overs to go. Lets see.