India beat Ireland in 1st T20I: Match report, key stats
India beat Ireland in the first match of the two-T20I series at The Village, Dublin, on Sunday. An unbeaten 47 from Deepak Hooda helped the Men in Blue chase down 109 in a rain-curtailed fixture. Earlier, Yuzvendra Chahal stopped the Irish batters from setting up a big total. The hosts still managed to rack up 108/4 in just 12 overs.
Indian skipper Hardik Pandya elected to field in a match that was reduced to 12 overs. The visitors reduced Ireland to 22/3 before Harry Tector (64*) and Lorcan Tucker (18) added 50 runs together. Pandya, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, and debutant Umran Malik leaked runs, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Chahal were economical. India completed the run-chase in 9.2 overs, with Hood returning unbeaten (47*).
Harry Tector helped Ireland post a challenging total. He slammed an unbeaten 64 off 33 balls (6 fours, 3 sixes). As per Opta, this is the highest score by any Ireland batter against India in the shortest format.
Deepak Hooda and Ishan Kishan opened for India in the first T20I. The latter hammered an 11-ball 26, while Hooda remained unbeaten on 47. Ishan struck at a staggering 236.36, with Hooda registering a strike rate of 162.07. A middle-order batter, Hooda cashed in on his fine form. He was a contributor to Lucknow Super Giants' success in IPL 2022.
As has been the case these days, Chahal was the pick of the Indian bowlers in the match. The leg-spinner scalped a solitary wicket for 11 runs in just three overs. He became the first Indian bowler to take 75 wickets in T20I cricket. Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar conceded just 16 runs in three overs, including a maiden. He also took a single wicket.
India maintain their unbeaten streak in Ireland. They routed Ireland 2-0 in the two-match series in 2018. The Village, Dublin, hosted both encounters. India won both matches by huge margins (76 and 143 runs).
