Ireland vs India 2022: 1st T20I- Who said What

India defeated Ireland without breaking a sweat in the first T20I on Sunday, 26th June at the Village. The match was reduced to 12 overs per side after a lengthy rain delay. Ireland already knew that they were batting first as Hardik Pandya had won the toss and opted to bowl first on a batting paradise.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was having a wonderful time with the ball in hand as he was exploiting the swing to full effect. He dismissed opposition skipper Andy Balbirnie in the very first over with an absolute peach of a delivery that hit the top of the off-stump. The experienced Paul Stirling then threw his wicket away in the following over with a reckless shot against Hardik Pandya. 

Ireland were in a spot of bother after being 22/3 at the end of the powerplay. That is when Harry Tector started playing his shots, and there was an enhancement in the scoring rate. The 22-year-old compiled an unbeaten 33-ball 64 that included a gorgeous six over the covers against Bhuvneshwar. Tector’s efforts pushed the Irish total to a respectable 108 off their 12 overs.

Deepak Hooda showcased his class upon his return to the national side

But the total was never going to bother the Indian batters as they made a mockery of the chase and got home with 16 deliveries to spare. Ishan Kishan started things off in style with a quickfire 26 off 11 balls, and Deepak Hooda and Pandya sealed the win for India with their 64-run partnership. The returning Hooda made a well-paced 47 off 29 balls and hit the winning runs for the visitors.

Earlier in the innings, Umran Malik made his much-expected debut, but it didn’t go as well as he would’ve planned as he conceded 14 runs in the first over and didn’t bowl another over. It was the wizardry of Yuzvendra Chahal which spun webs around the Irish batters as they couldn’t figure out a way to hit the leggie out of the park. Chahal conceded just 11 runs in his three overs on a belter of a pitch. As a result, the hosts couldn’t post a formidable total and India comfortably crossed the line. 

Losing skipper, Andy Balbirnie said:

Never easy when you come to the ground, do your full warmup, and it’s delayed. Credit to the groundsmen. Tector batted outstandingly well to get up to the total. We were good and we were bad. Against a team like India, you have to be good. Harry’s been in great form in ODI cricket and he carried that today.

Winning skipper, Hardik Pandya said:

Great to start a series with a win. For us, as a team, it’s very important to start with a win. Quite happy with it. He’s been fantastic for his franchise (Umran Malik). But I felt, also had a chat with him, he’ll be more comfortable with the older ball. Ireland batted fantastically, had to go back to our main bowlers. Maybe next game he’ll have a full chance. Some of the shots he played were mindblowing (Tector).

The Player of the Match, Yuzvendra Chahal said:

Very difficult (in these cold conditions). I felt like a finger spinner today (smiles). Sometimes it’s hard but you have to adapt to every condition. He (Hardik) gave me the liberty to bowl whatever I want to bowl. The atmosphere is pretty chilled. No, I’m not okay I’m wearing three sweaters right now.