Ireland created another piece of history with a remarkable 2-0 series victory over reigning T20 World Champions India as they clinched the second T20I by just one run in Belfast. And although India was in the hunt for a meagre target of 155, they fell in the final over, closing on 153 for 9 despite Tilak Varma’s battling half-century.
In his 100th T20I, Harry Tector top-scored for Ireland with an ice-cool half-century (53). Tector strode to the crease in the second over, and he dealt superbly with testing conditions of patchy early seam movement, skillfully managing singles but taking his opportunities when they came. He shared a key partnership of 65 with Ben Calitz that helped put Ireland onto the total of 154 for 8, which at one stage looked on the low side.
The partnership was looking to steal the game before India’s bowlers bounced back strongly. Calitz was eventually dismissed by Shivam Dube, and in the very next ball, he picked up Gareth Delany too. His wily changes and tight stick variations provided an arm to Ireland to wrist over the mid more than stage.
Prince with 3 for 22, bowled a superb spell. The young pacer, showing brilliant control with short balls and yorkers, dismissed key batters like Tector in the final over. The loss aside, his display underlined India’s impressive bench for pace.
But the hosts bowled really well to defend the target in Ireland. In the first over, Jai Moondra (L) had delivered one of the best opening spells of this series, removing Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma on consecutive balls. It was only the fourth time in T20I history that both openers fell for golden ducks.
Moondra kept the pressure on the Indians by taking Shreyas Iyer’s wicket and then was involved in a run-out while fielding sharply to send the very dangerous Ishan Kishan back. India were left reeling at 35 for 4, and the match was in the bag as far as Ireland was concerned.
A passage of patient partnership to try and carry the innings along from Tilak Varma and Axar Patel as they tried to stabilize the innings on a difficult Belfast surface. The pitch had given considerable assistance to seam bowlers and strokeplay became increasingly tough as India failed to hit the ball away once in eight overs.
Finally, the breakthrough came when Matt Hollard caught Axar off his own bowling, and Ireland’s bowlers carried out their plans to perfection near the end. Matt Humphreys, with the left-arm spin, smartly had Dube overbalancing and led out as Tilak’s gutsy 55 off 46 was uprooted in the second last over. It took a late flourish from India, but Ireland kept their cool to seal a famous win by the closest of margins.
With the result, India’s long-running unbeaten streak in bilateral T20Is, running nearly three years and across 16 matches, finally came to an end. The victory for Ireland is one of their finest moments in the T20I landscape, a perfect example that expert bowling execution and smart cricket can outsell world’s best.
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