Hooda and Hardik Pandya teamed up to good effect to make sure India doesn’t suffer an early setback in the series
Deepak Hooda plays a shot during the Twenty20 International cricket match between Ireland and India. Pic/ AFP
In a rain affected match, India overcame a 109 run target set by Ireland in 12 overs thanks to some pyrotechnics from Deepak Hooda, who scored a 29 ball 47*.
Having won the toss, Hardik Pandya sent Ireland in to bat. It proved to be the right decision as the new ball attack comprising of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Pandya himself, reduced the hosts to 22/3 in less than 4 overs.
However, middle-order batsman Harry Tector decided to take matters into his own hands as he hammered his way to a 64* from just 33 balls. Amidst Tector’s carnage, debutant Umran Malik went for 14 runs from his solitary over on debut.
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With the bat in hand, India started off solidly but lost Ishan Kishan and Surya Kumar Yadav for scores of 26 and 0 respectively, in quick succession. However, Hooda and Pandya teamed up to good effect making sure India doesn’t suffer an early setback in the series. When the skipper was dismissed for a rapid 24 run cameo off 12 balls, the men in blue only required a further 15 runs to win.
Dinesh Karthik and Hooda then paired up to steer the side over the line in the first of two T20Is.
