Rain plays party-pooper as India wrap up the the T20I series 2-0 - As it happened

The weather Gods took the field in the third and final T20I, and refused to allow any cricket. The series was already in India's pocket, and Boom Boom walked out with a broad smile on his face as he walked out as a champion and shook hands with Ireland captain Paul Stirling to officially draw the curtains. 2-0 it was! 

Here is a consolidated summary of how the T20I series ensued.

Third T20I - As it happened

Raincheck and the curtain call

The relentless rain left no room for negotiation of play in the third and final T20I between Ireland and India, and the fixture was ultimately called off.

Here's what the captains had to say:

India captain Jasprit Bumrah: "It was frustrating waiting for a game to happen. This was something we did not see coming because the weather was fine earlier. It's been a lot of fun (captaining) and an honour captaining them. They were enthusiastic and eager even when rain was around. (Wanting to captain) I don't think about that [injury.] When you get a chance to captain your side, you always take it. As a cricketer you always enjoy responsibility. (Injury issues...) All good no complaints."

Ireland captain Paul Stirling:"Periods of good cricket... in patches. A lot of positives but its about finishing those games on. India always gives high-quality good cricket when they come here. (Competition for places in Ireland side) Would've been good to get a game today and give few fresh faces a chance. Journey towards T20 World Cup continues. It's a build up for 10 months."

And perhaps the easiest guess, BOOM BOOM won the Player of the Series for claiming four wickets at an economy of 4.87 in the two completed games.

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Second T20I - As it happened

Ruturaj-Samson get India batting back on track

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma stepped out to rubberstamp a commanding start for India in the first innings, but alas they couldn't after they were dismissed by Craig Young and Barry McCarthy respectively. Then arrived Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson, and the pair got the Irish bowlers dance to their tunes with a 71-run partnership for the third wicket. Come the 13th over, Samson (40) would depart just 10 runs short of a well-deserved fifty while Rurutaj (58) got to his second career T20I half-century and then give his wicket away by slicing a McCarthy delivery down towards Harry Tector at long-off.

NOW PLAYING: Rinku - The Finisher

Rinku Singh finally got his chance to exhibit his batting talents on the international stage, and boy, he didn't disappoint. At one point (end of 18th over), Rinku was on a run-a-ball 15 but the talented batter would put the peddle on the accelerator and put on a score of 38 in 21 balls, which included three sixes in the opening four deliveries of the final over. He was supported by Shivam Dube, who remained unbeaten on a 16-ball 22.

Two fast, Too furious feat Prasidh Krishna

Ireland began their 186-run chase rather well in the first two overs. But the joy was shortlived, as Prasidh Krishna crashed the party with two wickets in his opening over of the game with his short-ball tactic. First, he got Paul Stirling (0) to top-edge a pull to Arshdeep who ran in from fine leg to claim the Irish captain's wicket and two balls later, Lorcan Tucker (0) miscued a pull towards Ruturaj Gaikwad at mid-on.

Balbirnie rescuciates run chase

All-rounder Andrew Balbirnie forged two vital partnerships for the fourth (35 with Curtis Campher) and fifth (52 with George Dockrell) to push Ireland past the 100-run mark. His 51-ball 72 run show would come to a conclusion in the 16th over, after an Arshdeep delivery took a nick off his bat and went straight to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.

Bumrah settles win with wicket maiden

For the first time in a long while, we have seen the final over of the match bowled by Jasprit Bumrah and the India skip showed why he is still one of the most-feared bowlers in the business. Boom Boom's fourth and final over read 0 0 0 W 0 B4, which included the dismissal of Mark Adair.

Brief scores: India 185/5 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 58, Sanju Samson 40, Rinku Singh 38; Barry McCarthy 2-36) beat Ireland 152/8 (Andrew Balbirnie 72; Jasprit Bumrah 2-15, Prasidh Krishna 2-29) by 33 runs.

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First T20I - As it happened

A Boom Boom start

Bowling the first over of the innings and taking two wickets in his first five balls - that’s how we know that Jasprit Bumrah is truly BACK!

After conceding a boundary off the first delivery, Boom Boom bowled his trademark in-swinger delivery that sharply took an inside edge off Andy Balbirnie's bat and knocked the stumps over. Two deliveries later, the India captain got rid of Lorcan Tucker with a caught-behind dismissal by Sanju Samson.

Bumrah’s first over in 327 days: 4W00W0. This made him just the fourth bowler after Ravichandran Ashwin (vs SL, 2016), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vs AFG, 2022) and Hardik Pandya (vs WI, 2023) to grab two scalps in the first over for India in a T20I.

Debut and two wickets for Prasidh Krishna

Another comeback man - Prasidh Krishna - had a positive run-in on his T20I debut. In his first outing since suffering a lumbar spine injury in 2022, the left-arm pacer got his first T20I dismissal with a short-pitched delivery that forced Harry Tector to slam towards Tilak Varma at short third.

He would add another to his tally in his second over, this time getting George Dockrell to dispatch a shot to Ruturaj Gaikwad at cover.

Bishnoi and Arshdeep join the wicket-taking party

Ravi Bishnoi found himself on the scoresheet with wickets for the first time in 2023, as he successfully breached the defences of Paul Stirling (11) and Mark Adair (16). While Stirling saw a googly delivery get the better of him in the sixth over, Adair was trapped by another googly that was adjudged a dismissal thanks to Bishnoi's belligerent review call.

After conceding 11 runs in his first two overs, Arshdeep Singh somehow vented his frustration with a thunderbolt yorker rattling through Curtis Campher's stumps (39). BULLSEYE.

McCarthy FIFTY resuscitates Ireland batting

Ireland were struggling at 59/6 after 11 overs, but the introduction of Barry McCarthy would see a tectonic shift in proceedings. With just 218 runs in 26 innings, the low-order batter went full throttle with an unbeaten 51 off 33 balls which included a maximum off the final ball in the innings to see him celebrate his maiden 50-plus score in T20Is. His effort helped Ireland post 139/7 in 20 overs.

Jaiswal-Gaikwad remain unscathed in powerplay

India openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad mixed caution and aggression in the powerplay, as they confidently took on the trio of Mark Adair, Joshua Little and Barry McCarthy. They maintained a run rate almost touching seven runs per over and combined to smack four boundary fours and two sixes to take India to 45/0 after six overs.

Double trouble before the rain

Craig Young’s entry to bowl the first over of the post-powerplay phase proved successful for Ireland, as his back-to-back wickets of Jaiswal (24) and Tilak Varma (0) inside his first three deliveries came as a jolt to India.

But, the timely intervention of the rain saved India’s day as they were two runs ahead of the DLS par score.

Brief scores: India 47/2 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 24; Craig Young 2/2) beat Ireland 139/7 (Barry McCarthy 51*; Jasprit Bumrah 2/24, Prasidh Krishna 2/32) by two runs via DLS method.