Rinku Singh announced himself in international cricket in style as India defeated Ireland by 33 runs in Malahide on Sunday to gain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series.
Though he made his debut on Friday in the tour opener, Rinku only got to showcase his ability as a middle-order batter for the first time in international cricket on Sunday. Rinku cracked two fours and three sixes and striking at over 180 after Ruturaj Gaikwad (58) and Sanju Samson’s(40) contributions laid the platform for the Men in Blue to post a sizeable total on the board.
Jasprit Bumrah, meanwhile, produced an even better performance two days after returning to international cricket with a bang. The India skipper collected 2/15 from four overs as Ireland could only manage 152/8 in reply, going past the 150-mark thanks largely to Andy Balbirnie’s valiant 72 off 51 deliveries.
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Besides Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna (2/29) and Ravi Bishnoi (2/37) also collected two wickets each while Arshdeep Singh (1/29) got the key wicket of Balbirnie in the 16th over that not only inflicted a body blow to Ireland’s hopes of taking the series to a decider, but also made him the second-quickest bowler to 50 T20I wickets.
India had won the rain-marred first T20I by two runs under the DLS method.
Prasidh continued his impressive return to top of the shelf cricket as the pacer packed off Irish captain Paul Stirling and Lorcan Tucker in his first over to reduce the hosts to 19 for 2.
Leg-spinner Bishnoi castled Harry Tector with a googly, restricting Ireland to 31 for 3 in the Power Play segment.
Ireland’s progress was made all the more difficult by the ever-climbing asking rate that often hovered around 12 and above.
But true to the Irish legacy, they fought bravely. Balbirnie was at the front of that mini fightback, making a strident fifty (72, 51 balls, 5×4, 4×6), before perishing to Arshdeep.
His dismissal ended Ireland’s faint hopes for a win and Mark Adair’s 15-ball 23 providing a mere artificial excitement.
However, before the bowlers took over, India ruled the field through their batsmen.
They started the innings briskly through opener Yashasvi Jaiswal who made an 18 off 11 balls with a couple of fours and a six off pacer Josh Little.
But the innings failed to build on the promise as Jaiswal’s attempt to pull Craig Young ended in the hands of Curtis Campher at deep.
Tilak Varma failed to make an impression in the second straight game, this time a mistimed pull off Barry McCarthy was snaffled by Dockrell close to the ropes.
At 35 for 2, India needed some solidity and momentum. The visitors gained that through Samson and Gaikwad for the third wicket.
They milked 71 runs between them to carry India past the 100-run mark in the 12th over.
Samson, who has triggered selection discussions ahead of India’s squad announcement for Asia Cup 2023 on Monday, played a nice, little innings of 40 off 26 balls that contained five fours and a six.
Samson tore into Little in the 11th over, hammering him for 18 runs.
An inside-out loft over covers, a slap over covers and a guide through the cordon brought him three fours in a row.
He decorated that train of aggression with a swivel pull that fetched him a maximum over fine leg.
However, a moment of misfortune ended his stay. Samson wanted to play leg-spinner White over the covers off a wide ball on the off-stump, but he could only drag the delivery back on to his stumps.
At 105 for 3 in the 13th over, India had a good launchpad to get to a sizable total.
Gaikwad kept his end going steadily. It was an anti-thesis to usual the T20 cameos as he looked to build the innings around him.
The right-hander reached his fifty, second in T20Is, with a powerful pull off White.
However, McCarthy’s slow ball drew curtains on Gaikwad’s innings. India were 129 for 4 then.
But India had a couple of big hitters in their ranks in Rinku and Dube, and they showed their power-hitting prowess in the 19th and 20th over.
The penultimate over by McCarthy went for 22 runs with Rinku carting him for two sixes and a four, and Adair’s final over produced 20 runs as India motored on.
With inputs from PTI
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