India held off a spirited Ireland fightback to register a four-run victory in the second T20I at the Malahide Cricket Club Ground.

A sensational century from Deepak Hooda (104) and Sanju Samson’s maiden half-century (77) powered India to a match-winning score of 225/7 in 20 overs.

Ireland came close to the 226-run target with inspirational knocks from skipper Andy Balbirnie (60), Paul Stirling (40) and the late cameos of George Dockrell (34) and Mark Adair (23) but fell short of chasing their highest target in T20 internationals.

India won the toss and elected to bat first. The Men in Blue brought in three changes to the playing XI, with Ruturaj Gaikwad replaced by Sanju Samson up front while Harshal Patel and Ravi Bishnoi coming in as like-for-like replacements for Avesh Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Ireland, on the other hand, opted to field the same playing XI from the opening game on Monday.

Sanju Samson provided India with a confident start, scoring 10 of the 13 runs in the first two overs but saw his opening partner Ishan Kishan depart for three. The left-hander was attempting a slog shot towards leg side but Mark Adair’s delivery - the first of the third over - took an angling turn and an outside edge to land in the safe hands of wicket-keeper Lorcan Tucker.

The Men in Blue would bounce back with the Sanju Samson-Deepak Hooda pairing taking India to 50 in 5.5 overs. The powerplay ended with the visitors posting a score of 54/1 in six overs, thanks to Hooda’s two boundaries and two sixes in that phase.

Deepak Hooda reached a well-deserved 50 at the end of the 10th over, taking just 27 balls to register the maiden half-century of his T20I career. Sanju Samson would follow suit and notch his first-ever T20I fifty in 31 balls.

India’s highest partnership in T20 internationals would come to an end in the 17th over, as Mark Adair’s dipping ball hit the middle stump and saw Sanju Samson walk back after a 42-ball 77. The 176-run stand for the third wicket bettered Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul’s opening partnership of 165 runs against Sri Lanka in 2017.

Hooda became the fourth Indian batter to notch a century in T20I internationals after Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, as he reached the landmark in just 54 deliveries.

Suryakumar Kumar, who came to bat at number four, was dismissed for 15 after his attempt to paddle past Lorcan Tucker instead ended in the wicket-keeper’s hands.

Joshua Little, the bowler to take the wicket of Sky Yadav, would end his spell of four overs by scalping the prized wicket of Deepak Hooda. The 27-year-old sliced the full outside off delivery towards deep point where Andy McBrine completed the catch. Hooda ended his innings with 104 runs coming in just 57 balls.

Making his 50th appearance for the hosts in T20 international matches, Craig Young ended his spell with back-to-back wickets of Dinesh Karthik and Axar Patel.

While Karthik’s dismissal was a good length delivery taking a thin edge and going straight towards Tucker, Axar Patel went for a six off Young’s length delivery but the ball landed in the safe hands of George Dockrell at deep mid-wicket.

With Harshal Patel being Mark Adair’s third victim of the fixture, India went on to end their first innings with a score of 225/7. This is the Men in Blue’s highest T20I total against Ireland.

Ireland got their run chase of 226 off to a determined start with 18 off the first over, bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Paul Stirling, who was dismissed for four runs in the first T20I, hit a six and three consecutive boundaries off Bhuvi after the first two deliveries went as dot balls.

The hosts raced to 50/0 in just 3.5 overs, and would lose their first wicket at 5.4 overs. After seeing his review for an LBW dismissal turned down, Ravi Bishnoi plucked the wicket of Paul Stirling with his googly delivery going past the Irish opener and hitting the stumps. After the powerplay, Ireland were 73/1.

India captain Hardik Pandya showed his quick fielding prowess as his direct throw at the stumps saw Gareth Delany run out for zero.

At the end of 10 overs, Ireland’s score was 107/2 with captain Andy Balbirnie reaching his sixth career T20I fifty in 34 balls. However, his innings would end in 10.2 overs as he smashed a Harshal Patel delivery straight towards Ravi Bishnoi at deep point. The Ireland captain departed with a confident knock of 60 runs in 34 balls.

Umran Malik grabbed the first wicket of his international career, as Lorcan Tucker slices it up towards long off but substitute fielder Yuzvendra Chahal completed the catch after running to his left.

Ireland made the most of Ravi Bishnoi’s final over as the Indian spinner conceded 17 runs in the 15th over, with George Dockrell slamming a six and two boundaries.

Just as it seemed to be in the hosts’ comfort zone, Bhuvneshwar Kumar grabbed the wicket of Harry Tector to put a stop to his 47-run stand for the fifth wicket with Dockrell.

With 17 runs required in the final over, Mark Adair tried to get the hosts close to the target but a couple of dot balls from Umran Malik proved decisive as India ended their tour of Ireland with a 100 per cent record under the captaincy and coaching of Hardik Pandya and VVS Laxman respectively.