The Indian team is on a tour to Ireland for a two-match T20I series. Both the T20Is will be played in Dublin. India won the rain-affected first T20I by 7 wickets and with 16 balls to spare. The match was reduced to 12-overs-a-side after rain delayed the match by two hours and twenty minutes. In the match, in-form spinner Yuzvendra Chahal produced a brilliant display of leg-spin bowling as he gave away just 11 runs in his three overs. When Ireland’s Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker were stitching up a good partnership, Chahal dismissed the latter which hampered their innings.
For his terrific performance, Chahal was awarded the Man of the Match award. It is worth noting that Ireland’s weather is quite cold during this time of the year as well.
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Therefore during the presentation ceremony, Chahal opened up about how the Indian team was coping with the cold weather. “It is very difficult to bowl in these cold conditions. I felt like a finger spinner today. Sometimes it’s hard, but you have to adapt to every condition,” Chahal was quoted as saying.
When Alan Wilkins asked the 31-year-old about the cold weather, Chahal replied cheekily and revealed that he was wearing three sweaters. Chahal said, “No I’m not okay I’m wearing three sweaters right now.”
This T20I series against Ireland is Hardik Pandya’s first assignment as skipper of the Indian cricket team. The flamboyant all-rounder began his journey as India’s captain with a comprehensive win. In the last few months, Hardik impressed several pundits with his bold leadership as he led Gujarat Titans to their first IPL title.
After the match, even Chahal was all praise for the young skipper. Chahal thanked Hardik for giving him the freedom to execute his plans. “The atmosphere under Hardik is chill, he gave me the freedom to execute my plans,” Chahal added.
In the first T20, India restricted Ireland to just 108/4 in their quota of 12 overs with Chahal, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pandya all taking a wicket each. India chased down the target of 109 easily with Deepak Hooda playing a stellar knock of 47 off 29 balls. India will take on Ireland in the second T20I on June 28.
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