Remarkable. Truly remarkable. Ireland Men have whitewashed the T20 world champions in a 1-run nail-biter – winning the series against India 2-0 against all expectations.
Many pundits expected that India would hit back hard on Sunday after Friday’s wake-up call, but Ireland had other plans and a mindset determined to show that the first match on Friday was no fluke.
Batting first, Ireland lost both openers – Tim Tector (5) and Ross Adair (16) by the third over and looked vulnerable amidst a much improved bowling performance by India.
First match batting hero, captain Lorcan Tucker, couldn’t repeat his heroics falling for 15 this match, but Harry Tector put his head down and batted with grit and determination to not let his side succumb to the Indian seamers.
Tector’s 54 from 47 balls saw him bat from the second over to the 20th in a patient knock that included 5 fours and a six. Tector found support from Ben Calitz (37 from 23 balls) and once more George Dockrell chimed in with a better-than run-a-ball 19.
Ireland finished 30 runs shy of Friday’s total, this time 154-8 and – once more – most on-lookers expected India to chase it down in a canter.
That was not what the script demanded. Last match, the then debutants Jai Moondra and Matthew Hollard both excelled with the ball – and this match they backed that up the three wickets each. Remarkably, Moondra once more picked up Sanju Samson with the first ball he bowled, and the left-arm seamer claimed 3-32 in a lively spell that caused the batters problems with the angle and length of his stock balls.
Hollard grabbed 3-23 – running through the Indian middle-order and ensuring the run chase was no cake walk for the visitors.
The Indian batting replay, led by Tilak Verms (55 from 46 balls) looked to learn from their mistakes in Game 1, and were sitting in a reasonable spot at 74-4 in the 12th over with batting depth to cover a late overs charge.
However, once again, the Irish bowlers pegged the visitors back with some disciplined bowling a taking regular wickets – their bowling lines planned to force the Indian batters to hit into the strong wind that was blowing across the ground. This shot-making saw a number of outfield catching chances arise, and the blustery conditions, the Irish fielders held most of the chances created.
With India building momentum, it was the 17th over that could arguably sealed their fate. Starting the over on 109-5 needing 46 off 30 balls with 5 wickets in hand, Ireland’s left-arm tweaker Matthew Humphreys was tossed the ball. He removed Shivam Dube with his first ball, then bowled three dots, conceding just two singles in an over that boosted the Irish fielders. Hollard claimed two more wickets in the following over to inflict a near-fatal blow on Indian chances, and while 32 runs came off the last two overs, India ended up a single run short and lost the series 2-0.
Irish delight ensued – a truly golden weekend for with an incredible two-match whitewash of India bookending a memorable win by Ireland Women over West Indies at the Women’s T20 World Cup.
