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India took a 1-0 lead in the two-match T20I series by registering a seven-wicket win over Ireland at the Malahide Cricket Club Ground.

A confident knock from Deepak Hooda (47 runs from 29 balls) helped India chase a 109-run target with ease. His 64-run partnership for the third wicket alongside India captain Hardik Pandya overshadowed Harry Tector’s gritty innings of 64 runs in 33 balls.

India opted to bowl first upon winning the toss. The visiting Men in Blue handed Umran Malik a debut on the back of a stellar season with the ball in the Tata IPL 2022. Ireland, on the other hand, have a debutant in Conor Olphert.

After rain delayed the start to the game, the match resumed with each side being told to play 12 overs each.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar opened the bowling for India, and registered a wicket maiden over. He grabbed the important wicket of Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie with his delivery hitting the top of the off stump.

Ireland’s star opener Paul Stirling would fall in the very next over. After hitting a boundary off Hardik Pandya, the 31-year-old sliced it off towards mid-off where Deepak Hooda completed the dismissal with a simple catch. The wicket meant Hardik is the first Indian captain to take a wicket in T20 Internationals.

The first powerplay phase in the game ended with Ireland at 22/3. Avesh Khan completed his first over conceding five runs and grabbing a wicket of Gareth Delany. Avesh’s back of a length delivery forced Delany to attempt a full shot but his miscalculated effort saw the ball take a small inside edge and go straight towards wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik.

Umran Malik’s debut over in T20Is became an injection of runs for Ireland as they added 18 runs to the board. Harry Tector made the most of the deliveries bowled as he slammed a boundary and a maximum off the Indian debutant to take the hosts to 52/3 after six overs.

Yuzvendra Chahal broke a promising 50-run partnership between Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker, as the latter played a slog-sweep shot towards Axar Patel who was stationed at deep square leg.

Harry Tector completed a well-deserved half-century for Ireland, reaching his third T20I fifty in 29 deliveries. He went on to end his innings at 64 runs from 33 balls as he anchored the hosts to post a score of 108/4.

India got their run chase of 109 off to a flying start, with a score of 15/0 in the first over. Ishan Kishan, the current leading T20I run-getter for the Men in Blue in 2022, slammed 14 runs off Joshua Little to provide a solid base to the run chase.

The left-hander, however, would be dismissed for 26 as Craig Young bowled a straight delivery that castled through Kishan and hit the middle and leg stump.

The next batter, Suryakumar Yadav, fell for a golden duck with Young registering a LBW dismissal. Yadav’s appeal for a review went against his favour and India captain Hardik Pandya stepped out as the number four batter for the visitors.

India finished the four-over powerplay with a team score of 45/2 and reached fifty with a Hardik Pandya six off the first ball of the sixth over.

The match-winning partnership of 64 runs between Deepak Hooda and Hardik Pandya was brought to a standstill as Joshua Little dismissed Pandya for an LBW dismissal. The Indian captain reviewed the decision, but he ended up losing it as the ball was hitting the wickets.

With six runs required in the final three overs, Deepak Hooda slammed back-to-back boundaries off Joshua Little as India went 1-0 up in the two-game T20I series against Ireland.

The teams will reconvene for the final match of the series on Tuesday, June 28 at the Malahide Cricket Club Ground.