Ireland vs India 2022: 2nd T20I – Who Said What

The second and final T20I between Ireland and India witnessed a thrilling competition put up by both teams with the Men in Blue emerging victorious by four runs to seal the series 2-0. Winning and losing is a part and parcel of any competition, and though Ireland lost the second game, their spirit and competitiveness was the talking point of the contest.

The game began with Hardik Pandya winning the toss and electing to bat first. With no signs of rain this time around, Pandya planned to put up a big total and utilize the pitch to its best. The Irish men kept their team unchanged, whereas India made three changes, bringing in Sanju Samson, Ravi Bishnoi, and Harshal Patel in place of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Avesh Khan.

Ishan Kishan and Samson opened the innings for India, but the former was dismissed early. But that is when Ireland were taken by a storm as India found two warriors in the form of Samson and Deepak Hooda. They made a mockery of Ireland bowlers and added some big runs on the scoreboard. The duo shared a 176-run partnership for the second wicket before Samson was dismissed for 77.

Hooda kept the game going and notched up a brilliant century to become just the fourth Indian batter to smash a ton in T20Is, but India saw a mini-collapse as wickets kept falling in succession towards the end of the innings. Six batters were dismissed in the final four overs, including Samson and Hooda as Joshua Little and Craig Young finished off with two wickets each. Mark Adair had three wickets under his belt as India ended the innings at 225/7.

Ireland lost the game by the barest of margins

Ireland fought back amazingly well as the Indian bowlers failed to pick a wicket early, and the Irish openers took full advantage of the situation. Bishnoi got the first breakthrough in the last over of the powerplay by scalping Paul Stirling, but the opener, alongside skipper Andrew Balbirnie, had added 72 runs in 5.4 overs. Gareth Delany had to walk back soon after Stirling, but the skipper played a great knock.

A combined effort from the team helped Ireland reach very close to the target. Harry Tector kept up with his good form as George Dockrell and Adair joined him in the power-hitting. The game came down to the final over when Umran Malik was given the task to defend 17 runs, and even after conceding a couple of boundaries, he restricted the batters at 221/5 as India won the game by four runs.

Losing skipper, Andrew Balbirnie said:

We are all pretty good, we did a lot of good stuff with the bat. We wanted to express and we did that. Bitterly disappointed, a bitter pill to swallow. We wanted to make use of the powerplay and Paul did that brilliantly. He set the tone and I took some time. Our T20 cricket has been up and down. That sort of game is something what we want to do. We’ve gone toe to toe against a very good team. We can’t let this be a flash in the pan.

Winning skipper, Hardik Pandya said:

I was trying to keep all the pressure out of my equation. I wanted to be in the present and I backed Umran. He has pace, with his pace it’s always going to be tough to get 18 runs. They played some amazing shots, they batted very well, credit to them and credit to our bowlers for holding their nerves. The crowd, their favourite boys were Dinesh and Sanju. Great experience to experience this side of the word. A lot of support comes for us, we try to entertain them and hope we did that. Thanks to everyone who supported us. As a child it’s always a dream to play for your country. Leading and getting first win was special, now winning the series is special as well. Happy for Deepak and Umran.

Player of the Match and Player of the Series, Deepak Hooda said:

I am coming from a good IPL, I was trying to follow up the same performance here as well. I like playing aggressively. Batting up the order, I have the time, I try to play according to the situation. Sanju is a childhood friend, we played U-19 together, I am happy for him as well. Ireland is very good, I enjoyed it a lot. Fans are superb here, I never feel like playing outside India. Yeah, the wicket is different, thanks to all the fans for the support.