IRE vs IND: Key Takeaways For Team India From 2-Match T20I Series

Hardik Pandya led-Indian side displayed good T20 cricket as the team managed to clinch the 2-match series 2-0 against resilient hosts Ireland. Although team India was impressively dominant in the first T20I, the second T20I went down the wire as Irish batters showed character while chasing a huge total, losing the game on the last bowl of the match.

The first T20I was reduced to 12 overs per side due to the rain delays prior to the start of the match. Batting first, Ireland recovered well enough from early hiccups and Harry Tector's unbeaten 64-off-33 balls helped Ireland to 108/4 in 12 overs. In reply, Deepak Hooda led the Indian side to the target in 9.2 overs with his unbeaten 47 off 29 deliveries. 

Here are a few key takeaways for team India from the T20I series against Ireland. 

1. Deepak Hooda's contention for the T20 World Cup squad

With a middle-order filled with batting stars like Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, and even Shreyas Iyer, it is highly unlikely Deepak Hooda will get a spot in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2022. Nevertheless, the batter didn't shy away from the rare opportunity he received of playing on an international level. 

In the first match, Hooda was sent up to open since Ruturaj Gaikwad was injured during fielding. Hooda played the new role to perfection, as he stayed till the end and took team India across the winning line.

Batting first in the second game, India lost opener Ishan Kishan in the 3rd over and the onus was yet again on the 27-year-old Deepak Hooda along with opener Sanju Samson to counter the new ball and help India after an early wicket. Hooda played brilliantly as he scored his maiden international ton. 

Deepak Hooda was the highest run-scorer in the series, with 151 runs to his name at a strike rate of 175.58 in 2 innings. The batting all-rounder has presented his contention for the T20 World Cup 2022 squad in the rare chances he has received. 

2. Can Bhuvneshwar Kumar keep up with his impressive economy in the death overs?

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the master of swing troubled the Irish batters in the first T20I as he gave away just 1 run while picking up the important wicket of Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie in the first over. In his next over, the 3rd over, Bhuvi gave just 3 runs despite the fielding restrictions. 

However, Bhuvneshwar went for a four and a six as he gave away 12 runs in the 10th over in the first T20I, which was a 12-over per side game. In the second T20I, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was taken on in the very first over as experienced Irish opener, Paul Stirling smacked 18 runs of the first over. 

The swing bowler went for 11 runs in his second over. Bhuvneshwar was brought back in to the attack in the 16th over where he conceded 10 runs. However, in the 18th over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up his first and an important wicket of Harry Tector and swung the game in India's favour for a bit. 

Also Read: Scorecard

The same Indian squad which toured Ireland will be playing 2-warm up games on 1st & 3rd of July against Derbyshire and Northamptonshire respectively, while the Indian test team will be taking on England in the rescheduled final test of the series, to maintain their lead in the series and win a historic series.