Hooda 104, Samson 77 as India seal the series in last-ball thriller
Stirling, Balbirnie, Dockrell and Adair kept Ireland in the game before Malik closed it out for the visitors
Stirling, Balbirnie, Dockrell and Adair kept Ireland in the game before Malik closed it out for the visitors
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Sreshth Shah
8.44pm And as Hardik Pandya receives the T20I series, he passes it over to Umran Malik, and the team now pose with the trophy. Bishnoi, not so long ago a debutant himself, tells Umran how to lift the trophy. All smiles among the squad members. That is all from us at ESPNcricino. Thank you for joining us. More cricket from in and around here coming soon. India's Test this weekend against England in Edgbaston, and Ireland's white-ball series at home against New Zealand next week. Bye bye.
8.28pm Presentation time. A round of applause for the groundstaff to get the pitch and outfield ready here in Malahide with so much rain around over the week.
Winning captain Hardik Pandya: "(Final over) Not worried to be honest. Wanted to keep pressure out of my equation, wanted to be in the present. I backed Umran since he has pace. With his pace, its difficult for people to hit. I think we've come to play a game of cricket, so Ireland were going to show us what they have. Credit to them, they played amazing shots. At the same point of time, credit to our bowlers to cross the line. (Irish experience) The crowd was amazing. Their favourites boys were Dinesh and Sanju, great to see them enjoy them. Good for us to experience cricket in this part of the world too. Grateful to the fans. (New faces) Proud. As a child, it is everyone's dream to play the country. At the same point of time, leading and getting first victory and now first series win is special. Also happy for Hooda as well, the way he batted. And Umran."
Losing captain Andy Balbirnie: "We are all pretty gutted. Don't get that close to India so often. At the halfway stage, we said there's only one way you can chase this. We are bitterly disappointed, crowd's been amazing last two games. A bitter pill to swallow. We knew we had to use the powerplay early - Stirling set the tone, I took a bit of time. The boys did pretty well all the way down. (The positives) Our T20 cricket has been up and down over last few years. That sort of game is pretty close to what we want to do with the bat. We just want to do that this summer so that our plans are clear when we reach the T20 World Cup. (Dressing room) At the moment it is disappointment, but we put up a very good score. On another day, it is a winning score. We play New Zealand in ODIs and T20Is next, so we can't let this be a flash in the pan. Need to keep the same mindset."
Deepak Hooda is the Player of the Match for his century: To be honest, I was coming from a good IPL and wanted to follow the same performance. Happy with my intent. I like playing in that manner (aggressive) and these days I am batting up the order so getting some time. Sanju is my childhood friend, always good to bat with him. Thank you to fans, the way they came and supported us."
Deepak Hooda is the Player of the Series. He made an unbeaten 47 in the first T20I too.
We'll have the presentation shortly. Stick around.
Sovan Tarafder: "Learning is the desire of the wise (Irish Proverb). Victory for India and moral victory for Ireland."
Harshal Patel: "We were comfortable with 225, and most times you defend it. They played good shots, wicket was a belter, outfield was fast, we made a few mistakes and they got close. But we held our nerves and finished the game. (Umran 20th over) Held his nerve, the way the game was going the momentum was with the batting unit. The way he finished was exceptional. (ireland batters impressive?) Absolutely. Exceptional shots. We were sort of surprised the way they batted today. There's no doubt about the quality of Irish batters, it was on show today."
Adarsh: "This also highlights the importance of Chahal. He conceded only 11 runs in his 3 overs in the first match."
Stat alert: Second-highest number of runs conceded by India in a T20I. #1 on the list is the 245 they conceded in a one-run defeat against West Indies in the USA in 2016. That game also had an Indian (KL Rahul) scoring a century. Speaking of centuries, the Hooda ton seems such a long time ago given how tantalisingly close this second innings was.
Raaj: "Bumrah is needed here. India got lucky in this match... last 5 overs flopped costs this much."
8.12pm Umran Malik with a fist pump to celebrate his defense. Gets a hug from Kishan, and India can finally breathe easy. Stirling, Balbirnie, Tector, Dockrell and Adair nearly pulled off the perfect T20 chase, and in the end, just one boundary shot is the difference between victory and defeat.
Meera: "5th bowler wins the game for India, combined figures of 30 of 4 overs was incredible " -- That's right, Axar and Hardik conceded just 30.
NethraReya: "Even as an Indian, we wanted Ireland to win. What a chase, what a brave effort. Eoin Morgan can come back to Ireland and take the cricket forward in Ireland. "
RCBfan: "Full marks to Ireland for the performance. Not so much for Hardik the captain and Umran the bowler. Pacers getting hit all over the park and Hardik persisted with pace! Bhuvi " -- All's well that ends well for Hardik, I would suppose.
What a T20I this has been! Dockrell, strike-rate of 226.
Free hit. Can Adair punish young Malik for his mistake?
Umran runs in, but doesn't deliver, pulling out at the last moment. Looks like Kishan asked him to step since the field was being changed.
A journeyman cricketer, he found his big stage and delivered a Player-of-the-Series showing in Ireland
Captain hopes his team keeps the aggression going in home summer packed with Full-Member assignments
Stirling, Balbirnie, Dockrell and Adair kept Ireland in the game before Malik closed it out for the visitors
Ireland need better powerplays in both departments to somewhat narrow the gap vs India