Ireland was defeated by team India in the first T20I clash which was played in Dublin. The match was initially delayed by rain and was further played with a reduction of 8 overs on each side. The 12-over innings of the hosts ended at 108 runs with the help of Harry Trector, who scored 64 runs against the Indian pace attack which consisted of Umran Malik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Avesh Khan. The spin unit had Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal too. Skipper Hardik bowled 2 overs, taking the wicket of opening batsman Stirling. Hardik Pandya became the first Indian captain to claim a wicket in the format of T20Is.
Yuzvendra Chahal bowled dominantly as he conceded just 11 runs in his 3 overs and bagged one wicket.
Ireland captain Balbirnie stated that it is “never easy” to play at Dublin and despite perfect warm-up the game was interrupted by rain which reduced the gameplay causing a change in strategic plans for both the teams. Ireland skipper also congratulated the groundsmen for their quick work which made the game possible after rain caused a wet field.
“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.”
