Ireland were 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 reduction of 8 overs 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 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 have claim a wicket in the format of T20Is.
With India now leading by 1-0 in the two match bilateral series against Ireland, the youngsters might get a chance to debut under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy and Laxman’s guidance.
Talking about the opening magic of Deepak Hooda, it is hard to say whether team India will take another chance of sending everyone one place up or might give chance to Rahul Tripathi.
Sanju Samson was called in and his comeback was well announced by his fans and followers as everyone anticipated his critical role in the bilateral series against Ireland but the lad was not considered in the first T20 International and with only one game left for the series, it is highly unlikely but not impossible to witness Sanju Samson in the playing XI.
If Sanju Samson is considerably chosen in the playing XI, he shall replace Suryakumar Yadav who plays in the similar position and after Deepak’s fire performance he is least likely to get replaced as of now.
But the major issue was when fans questioned Sanju Samson’s face in the playing XI as a replacement for Deepak Hooda particularly.
Former Indian pacer and Gujarat Titans coach, Ashish Nehra stated that it was not a tough call for the management to prefer Deepak Hooda over Sanju Samson.
“No, it’s not a tough call at all. Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi have come in place of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. Deepak Hooda was already in the squad, and even Venkatesh Iyer didn’t play a match against South Africa. And the kind of performance Deepak Hooda put in the IPL, as he is one of those players who played for Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy, the whole season he scored runs, then in the IPL also,” he said in a pre-match show on SonyLIV.
“He started the tournament, playing at 5 or 6 (for LSG) and then he was promoted to number three, and there also he did well. So, his confidence must be high.”
