The Hardik Pandya-led Indian cricket team won a nail-biting match against Ireland by four runs despite a mammoth total of 225 runs on the board in the second T20I at The Village in Dublin on Tuesday. Ireland’s batsmen were hitting boundaries and came close to chasing a total, needing 17 runs from the final over to create a major upset.
India captain Hardik Pandya has given the reason for giving the responsibility of bowling to young fast bowler Umran Malik in the last crucial over of the match. “I was trying to keep all the pressure out of my equation. I wanted to live in the present and I supported Umran. He has the pace, it’s always tough to score 18 runs with his pace. He played some amazing shots, he batted very well, credit to him and credit to our bowlers for catching his nerves,” Pandya said in the post-match presentation.
Big relief for Umran Malik after he successfully defended 16 runs in the final over. pic.twitter.com/hjWwJTuXh1— mufaddal vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 28, 2022
The 28-year-old captain also talked about playing in Ireland And getting huge support from Indian fans. Pandya was grateful to the fans and said that his favorite players were Dinesh Karthik and Sanju Samson as they were cheering loudly for him. “The crowd, their favorite boys were Dinesh and Sanju. Great experience experiencing this side of the world. Lots of support comes to us, we try to entertain them and hope we did. Thanks to everyone who supported us,” the India captain said.
“As a child, it is always a dream to play for my country. It was special to captain and get the first win, now winning the series is also special. Happy for Deepak and Umran.”
Coming to the match, top knocks from skipper Andrew Balbirnie (60), Paul Stirling (40) and Harry Tector (39) went in vain as India snatched the match from Ireland in the last over to register a four-run victory off the last ball. , With this, India won the series 2-0. Ireland though would go on with a lot of positivity as they were in the match till the last ball and gave India the scare of a lifetime with their batting.
(with ANI inputs)