IND vs IRE / Team India's win under Duckworth-Lewis method - rain spoils the fun

IND vs IRE: The beginning of the T20 series between India and Ireland was affected by the interference of rain and it ruined the fun of the first match itself. Despite this, India won the first match by 2 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis rule on the basis of strong bowling and then a fast start in batting. In this way, Team India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Jasprit Bumrah, returning to Team India after 11 months, also made his return memorable and played the most important role in the team's victory. Along with this, Bumrah also got the first success in his captaincy for Team India.

This series is very important for Team India due to the return of Jasprit Bumrah and the famous Krishna from injury, but the shadow of rain was hovering over the first match itself, due to which there was a possibility that the return of both might get spoiled. The rain definitely interfered in the match but before that Bumrah and Krishna had shown their bowling power and stopped Ireland for just 139 runs.

Bumrah wreaked havoc as soon as he arrived

Bumrah, who has been out of action since September 2022 due to injury, returned to international cricket with this match. He was also made the captain for this series. In his very first match, Bumrah wanted to test his preparation by winning the toss and his decision proved to be correct. Bumrah himself decided to get the first over done. He hit a four on his very first ball, but on the very next ball, Bumrah made his comeback with a bang by bowling Andy Balbirnie. In the same over, Bumrah also took the wicket of Lorcan Tucker.

Famous and Bishnoi also dominated

After this vigorous start of Bumrah, it was the turn of leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and the famous Krishna. Famous took the wicket of Harry Tector in his very first over in T20. In the very next over, Bishnoi bowled Irish captain Paul Stirling. Famous again took the wicket in the seventh over and this time George Dockrell returned to the pavilion. In this way, in just 6.3 overs, Ireland had lost 5 wickets for 31 runs. Bishnoi made Mark Adair his victim on the score of 59 in the 11th over.

The Wonder of Camper-McCarthy

From here, Curtis Campher and Barry McCarthy not only handled the innings, but also counter-attacked. There was a partnership of 57 runs in 44 balls between the two, which took the team beyond 100 runs. Jasprit Bumrah controlled the score in the 19th over and gave only 1 run, but in the 20th over, McCarthy hit Arshdeep for consecutive sixes in the last two balls and completed the half-century in just 33 balls.

Rain after the start of Yashasvi-Rituraj

The target in front of India was not very big and Yashasvi Jaiswal made a steady start with Rituraj Gaikwad. Jaiswal in particular took some beautiful shots. However, still both could not get off to a blazing start and 45 runs came in the powerplay. Then Ireland made a comeback in the seventh over. Craig Young returned Jaiswal and Tilak Verma to the pavilion on two consecutive balls.

Tilak, who made a tremendous debut in the West Indies, was dismissed for the first time in 6 innings without opening the account after playing a single ball. At this time the rain intervened and the match had to be stopped. Gradually the rain intensified and the match could not be resumed. Team India was 2 runs ahead under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern rule and hence was declared the winner. The second match of the series will be played on 20 and the last match on 23 August.

Ireland gave a target of 140

Batting first after losing the toss, the Ireland team scored 139 runs for 7 wickets in 20 overs. In this way, India got a target of 140 runs to win.

India won the match, but the Irish also impressed

The Irish team looked under pressure from the start, while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who was returning to international cricket after almost 11 months, appeared in his old avatar and took two wickets in the first over. Debutant Krishna also impressed with the ball. He took 2 wickets for 32 runs in 4 overs.

Ireland's lower order batsmen left the most impact. Barry McCarthy landed at number 8 and scored the first half-century of his career. Curtis Camper also played well with him. Both of them shared a 57-run partnership for the 7th wicket. Due to this partnership, the Irish team, which had lost 6 wickets at 59, could reach the total of 139.

In the counter-innings, India's young openers also performed their responsibility well. Both added 46 runs, although two consecutive wickets fell on this score increased the worries of the team, but the rain turned the result in favor of India.

Playing XI of both the teams

India: Jasprit Bumrah (Captain), Rituraj Gaikwad (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Tilak Verma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dubey, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh and the famous Krishna.

Ireland: Paul Stirling (captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Mark Adair, Curtis Camper, George Dockrell, Joshua Little, Barry McCarthy, Bezmin White, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.