With looming rain, Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bowl first with young speedster Umran Malik getting his India debut. Then the rain arrived, delaying the start of the match. But the pacer exploited the conditions well only to Harry Tector hit a brilliant unbeaten 64 off 33. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Avesh Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal took a wicket each. Ireland reached 108/4.
India's chase got off to a flier. Deepak Hooda, not Ruturaj Gaikwad, companied Ishan Kishan. And they stitched a 30-run opening stand in just 2.4 overs with Kishan hitting 26 off 11. Craig Young then claimed two in two, those of Kishan and his Mumbai Indians team-mate Suryakumar Yadav. Skipper Pandya then joined Hooda in a 64-run stand, before getting out for 24 off 12. Dinesh Karthik arrived and Hooda carried the bat, with an unbeaten 47 off 29.
Meaning, Hardik Pandya started his India captaincy stint with a win, just like in the IPL for Gujarat Titans. India have now won four in four against Ireland. Catch IRE vs IND highlights and cricket scores:
