IRE vs IND: Rinku Singh announces his arrival with 3 sixes, Ruturaj Gaikwad smacks half-century as India take unassailable 2-0 lead

The young guns of Team India gave a glimpse of what the future looks like as Rinku Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravi Bishnoi all excelled in their respective roles as Jasprit Bumrah-led Men in Blue brushed aside a spirited Ireland side in the second T20I at The Village in Dublin on August 20 (Sunday).

SportsTak

• Sun • 20 Aug 2023

The young guns of Team India gave a glimpse of what the future looks like as Rinku Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravi Bishnoi all excelled in their respective roles as Jasprit Bumrah-led Men in Blue brushed aside a spirited Ireland side in the second T20I at The Village in Dublin on August 20 (Sunday). India defeated Ireland by 33 runs and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Rinku smashed three sixes and two fours in his maiden outing with the bat for India, Gaikwad whacked a half-century while Bishnoi bagged two wickets in what was an all-round performance from India.

Chasing a daunting target of 186 runs, the hosts once again started their innings poorly with the bat. Skipper Paul Stirling and wicketkeeper-batter Lorcan Tucker departed without troubling the scorers before Ireland found themselves tottering at 63/4 at the 10-over mark.

Ex-captain Andrew Balbirnie played a stupendous knock and kept his team in the hunt for a miraculous victory. The right-handed batter scored 72 runs off 51 balls with the help of five fours and four sixes. Apart from Balbirnie, none of the Irish batters made a significant contribution with the bat. As a result, Ireland could only muster a score of 152/8 in 20 overs.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of all bowlers. The Indian skipper finished with excellent figures of 2/15 in fours overs, including a maiden over. Prasidh Krishna and Bishnoi bagged a couple of wickets each while Arshdeep Singh chipped in with a wicket.

Earlier, after India were asked to bat first, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, and Rinku Singh showcased their prowess, leading the team to a commendable score of 185/5. Gaikwad's 58-run knock from 43 balls, Samson's swift 40 runs off 26 balls, and Singh's fiery 38 runs off 21 balls set India on a trajectory to clinch the series.

Yashasvi Jaiswal started India's innings with a couple of aggressive shots before his stay at the crease was cut short for 18 runs off 11 balls. Tilak Varma, just like in the previous game, couldn't leave a mark in the match and departed after scoring just one run.

Samson and Gaikwad emerged as the dynamic duo, pooling in a combined 71 runs, propelling India past the 100-mark by the 12th over. Rinku and Shivam Dube, known for their fierce batting, dominated the concluding overs, pushing the score up, with the last two overs yielding a combined 42 runs. Dube remained unbeaten 22 runs off 16 balls with the help of two sixes.

For Ireland, Barry McCarthy bagged two wickets while Mark Adair, Craig Young and Benjamin White chipped in with a wicket each.