Ireland 96 (Delany 26, Hardik 3-27, Bumrah 2-6, Arshdeep 2-35) lost against India 97 for 2 (Rohit 52, Pant 36*) by eight wickets.
The second Twenty20 International match played in New York was tough and low scoring, much like the first. Two days after South Africa bowled Sri Lanka out for 77 here, India bowled Ireland out for 96. For this game, a different strip was used, yet batting was just as challenging, if not more so, due to the uneven bounce.
India made an excellent selection, benching Kuldeep Yadav in favour of two spin-bowling all-rounders and four fast bowlers, including Hardik Pandya, to extend their batting attack. They crossed the boundary with 46 balls left thanks to the combined efforts of Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, so they didn’t need to bat as much in the end, but the fast attack was really helpful. Throughout an Ireland innings that lasted only 16 overs, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik combined to score 8 for 81, extracting seam movement and up-and-down bounce.
Despite the excellent performances, the conditions of this encounter will remain in memory. Both teams’ batters suffered physical knocks; Rohit had to retire injured on 52 after being hit in the arm. By the time India had secured their victory, they would have started thinking about June 9 at the same location and the type of pitch they might have to face Pakistan on.