India beat Ireland by a margin of four to win the two-match T20I series 2-0 at Malahide on Tuesday.
Chasing a mammoth goal of 226 runs, Ireland came close to claiming the famous victory but fell short, as Umran Malik defended 17 runs in the grand final. Skipper Andrew Balbirnie’s 60 and Paul Stirling’s 40 set up the chase for the Ireland team before Harry Tector (39), George Dockrell (35*) and Mark Adair (23*) nearly sent the team home.
After picking the ball first, Hardik Pandya’s men posted 225 for seven in the back decider with Deepak Hooda’s splash 104 of 57 balls. India got off to a slow start with Ishan Kishan getting knocked out early in the third round. Sanju Samson, who replaced Ruturaj Gaikwad in the 11 squad, then paired up with Hooda for the second star.
READ:
IND vs IRE: Samson, Hooda record highest T20I partnership for India
ALSO READ:
Deepak Hooda becomes the fourth Indian man to reach the 20th century
The duo then forged an explosive partnership with 176 runs from 85 balls – the highest T20I partnership by an Indian pair as they surpassed Rohit’s record of 165 runs. Sharma and KL Rahul in 2017.
Samson delivered his first half-century T20I (77) while Hooda went on to beat his first century in the 55-ball format. He became the fourth Indian to reach the milestone after Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and KL Rahul. India’s middle order then fell apart in a war of death when Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel and Harshal Patel fell for the golden duck.
Brief score: India: 225 for 7 out of 20 rounds (Deepak Hooda 104, Sanju Samson 77; Mark Adair 3/42, Josh Little 2/38, Craig Young 2/35).
Ireland: 221 for 5 of 20 starts (Paul Stirling 40, Andrew Balbirnie 60, Harry Tector 39; George Dockrell 34 not out; Ravi Bishnoi 1/41, Umran Malik 1/42).
