IREvIND 2nd T20I report: A lone Tilak hand, a late Rana blitz, but Ireland seal famous series win
Oh, what game. Every ball was an event. A thrill-a-minute fest, but alas, India end up on the wrong side of things – by a whopping ONE RUN - as Ireland script history, beating India for the first time in any format. It’s a testament to how far they’ve come..
A Tilak fighting fifty👏
For a large part of the game, it was as if he was playing a lone hand in keeping India alive in the chase. Jai Moondra struck early, dismissing both openers for first ball ducks, before Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan (run-out unfortunately) fell inside the powerplay as India were reduced to 35/4.
But Tilak Varma kept his calm, dropped anchor, found the odd boundary, and with Axar Patel and Shivam Dube giving him decent company, kept Indian hopes alive. He fell for 55 off 46 in the 18th over, and it looked all over for India, until…
…Harshit Rana found the trees! 💪
He swung for the hills, and found the grass banks beyond the boundary. 34 runs were needed off the last two overs with India eight wickets down. Harshit didn’t give up. Two fours, one six, and the pressure was back on the Irish. Sadly, with eight runs needed off the last two balls, he looked to clear long-on, but fell a few inches short to find the fielder out there.
An impressive Prince debut 🤌
Three wickets in his first outing, and a six off the one ball he faced, Prince Yadav was pretty impressive with his pace and his accuracy. He shone in the last over with the ball, giving away just five runs and taking a couple of wickets to keep Ireland to 154/8 in their 20 overs.
A historic day for the Irish, but a disappointing end for the Men in Blue, who end a 16-match unbeaten series streak in T20Is. But it could be a useful wake-up call ahead of a long tour of England, and we trust our boys to step up and end the tour on a high!
