India beat Ireland by seven wickets in the first T20I of the two-match series, at the Village in Malahide, Dublin. It rained shortly after Hardik Pandya opted to bowl on his first match as Indian captain. In a match reduced to 12 overs, Ireland put up 108/4, but India hardly broke a sweat in the chase, winning the match with 10 balls to spare.
Ishan Kishan (26 in 11 balls) led the charge for India, slamming two fours and a six in the first over, bowled by Josh Little (2.2-0-39-1). When Craig Young (2-0-18-2) replaced Little, Kishan welcomed him with a four and a six off the first two balls. But Young had his revenge, bowling Kishan and trapping Suryakumar Yadav leg-before with his fourth and fifth balls.
Deepak Hooda (47* in 29 balls) then opened up at the other end, with two fours off Mark Adair (2-0-14-0). Pandya (24 in 12) cut loose at the sight of off spinner Andy McBrine, smashing him for three sixes in his only over, while Hooda welcomed debutant Craig Olphert to international cricket with a six over square leg off his first ball. Some respite came Ireland's way when Little trapped Pandya leg before, but by then the damage was done.
Earlier, the Indian seamers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-1-16-1), Pandya (2-0-26-1), and Avesh Khan (2-0-22-1) – reduced Ireland to 22/3 inside four overs. Yuzvendra Chahal, too, bowled brilliantly in the middle overs for his 3-0-11-1, a spell that won him the Player of the Match award. That Ireland reached 108/4 was largely due to Harry Tector, who slammed six fours and three sixes in an unbeaten 33-ball 64. His onslaught included a four and a six off debutant Umran Malik's only over.
Brief scores
Ireland 108/4 in 12 overs (Harry Tector 64*; Yuzvendra Chahal 1-11) lost to India 111/3 in 9.2 overs (Deepak Hooda 47*; Craig Young 2-18) by 7 wickets with 10 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Yuzvendra Chahal.