India beat Ireland by 33 runs in the second T20I at the Village cricket ground in Malahide, Dublin to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
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Ireland captain Paul Stirling won the toss and put India to bat as both teams remained unchanged. India put up 185/5 after a solid half-century from Ruturaj Gaikwad and quickfire contributions from Sanju Samson (40) and Rinku Singh (38).
In reply, Ireland lost early wickets and never got going, despite opener Andrew Balbirnie’s excellent 72. Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Ravi Bishnoi took two wickets each to ensure Ireland rarely threatened and eventually scored only 152/8.
The Sporting News rates the performance of all the players in the match.
India vs. Ireland: India player ratings
Yashasvi Jaiswal (3/10): Jaiswal started the Indian innings in his usual aggressive style, and was particularly severe on any short-pitched bowling. But this also proved his undoing as he was caught well on the boundary by Curtis Campher for a quickfire 18.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (7/10): Gaikwad registered his highest T20I score, anchoring the innings with an elegant 58 and was dismissed trying to step on the accelerator in the 16th over.
Tilak Varma (1/10): Despite his success in the Caribbean, Tilak has disappointed thus far in Ireland. After a golden duck in the first T20I, he was dismissed in the second ball here, top-edging a pull shot straight to deep square leg.
Sanju Samson (8/10): Samson came in at 34/2 in the Powerplay and batted with good intent, making his way to 40 off 25 balls which included three fours and a six in a single Josh Little over. He eventually dragged leg-spinner, Ben White, onto his stumps in the 13th over, trying to up the ante.
Rinku Singh (8/10): Batting for the first time in Indian colours, Rinku picked up where he left off in the IPL, performing his role of finisher to near-perfection. He gave the innings a lift towards the end, hitting two fours and three sixes in his 38 off 21 balls. To top his performance off, Rinku was also adjudged Player of the Match.
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Shivam Dube (6/10): Perhaps unlucky to not face the bulk of the spin bowling, Dube struggled early on. He managed to make up for a slow start by hitting Mark Adair for two sixes, and finished on 22 not out from 16 balls. He also bowled two overs for 18 runs.
Washington Sundar (5/10): Sundar faced only one ball with the bat, the final one of the innings. He then bowled two overs, conceding 19.
Arshdeep Singh (6/10): Arshdeep started poorly, conceding 10 off his first over. He did tighten up later on however, and even took the wicket of the set Andy Balbirnie to finish with 1/29.
Prasidh Krishna (8/10): Another player making his comeback from injury in this series, Prasidh struck twice in his first over and his figures stood at 2/3 off his first two overs. He eventually ended up with 2/29 off his four.
Ravi Bishnoi (7/10): Bishnoi struck off his very second delivery to remove Harry Tector, before removing Curtis Campher later on. He did however leak 13 runs in his final over to finish with 2/37.
Jasprit Bumrah (9/10): If he made an impact early in the first T20I, Jasprit Bumrah was effective at the back end of the innings on Sunday. He kept things tight before removing Barry McCarthy and Mark Adair in his third and fourth overs. He even bowled a wicket maiden off the last over of the innings (with only 4 byes conceded off the final ball) to finish with 2/15.
India vs. Ireland: Ireland player ratings
Andrew Balbirnie (9/10): Despite regularly losing batting partners, Balbirnie was the only Irish batter to score anything of substance as he held the innings together. He finally edged Arshdeep Singh through to the keeper for 72 off 51.
Paul Stirling (1/10): Stirling tried to get Ireland off to a good start, but ended up being one of the numerous victims to the short ball. He top-edged Prasidh Krishna to fine leg in the third over for a four-ball duck.
Lorcan Tucker (1/10): Just two balls after his captain departed, Lorcan Tucker was also undone by the short ball for zero, as Ruturaj Gaikwad managed to hold on to a good catch at mid-on.
Harry Tector (2/10): Tector was foxed by a googly from Ravi Bishnoi off the spinner’s second delivery, losing his stumps for a run-a-ball seven.
Curtis Campher (3/10): Campher was part of the Irish rescue act with the bat in the first T20I but only got off to a start here, making 18 before reverse-sweeping Bishnoi to point in the tenth over.
George Dockrell (4/10): Dockrell began a rebuilding job along with Balbirnie but a mix-up between the wickets saw him run out for 13.
Mark Adair (5/10): Adair, like a few others, bowled his first three overs well but was smashed in his last one. The 20th over went for 20 runs, and he ended up with 1/36 in his four overs. With the bat, he hit a few lusty blows in an entertaining 23.
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Barry McCarthy (7/10): After rescuing Ireland with the bat in the first T20I, McCarthy holed out for two off Bumrah here. He delivered the goods with the ball however, first removing Tilak Varma early before bowling a fantastic slower ball to deceive a set Ruturaj Gaikwad later on. His final over, however, went for 22 as he finished with 2/36.
Craig Young (7/10): Young varied his pace and length well throughout his spell, and managed to remove the dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal early on. He kept a lid on India’s run-scoring, ending up with 1/29 from his four overs.
Josh Little (2/10): Little had a poor outing, conceding 16 off his first over before being carted for 18 in his third by Sanju Samson. He came back well to concede just 5 runs off the 17th over but finished with figures of 0/48.
Ben White (6/10): White bowled his first three overs well, even if he was slightly lucky to get the wicket of Sanju Samson. His final over, however, proved expensive as he conceded 16 to finish with 1/33.
What next for the Indian team?
The Indian team will be back in action against Ireland for the third T20I on Wednesday, 23 August.
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