India kicked off their tour of Ireland with a T20I match at The Village last evening. The two teams met in an international fixture for the first time in four years. Hardik Pandya made his international captaincy debut and asked Ireland to bat after winning his first toss.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar provided the perfect start to India by rattling Andy Balbirnie's stumps in the first over of the game. Hardik Pandya then sent Paul Stirling to the dressing room as Ireland lost their openers before touching double digits.
A fifty from Harry Tector helped Ireland set a 109-run target for the visitors in 12 overs, but the runs were not enough for the Irish bowlers as they conceded 111 runs in 9.2 overs. India won the game by seven wickets and took a 1-0 lead in the series.
Now that the first T20I of the tour is in the history books, here's a look at the Indian players' ratings from the match against Ireland.
(Please Note - Ruturaj Gaikwad has not been rated because he neither batted nor bowled in the match)
Ishan Kishan - 7/10
Ishan Kishan opened the innings for India and scored a 11-ball 26. He provided a flying start to the team, smashing three fours and two sixes. His brief knock turned the momentum in India's favor.
Deepak Hooda - 9/10
Deepak Hooda was the top-scorer for India in the first T20I. Opening the innings against Ireland, Hooda aggregated 47 runs off 29 deliveries.
He took some time to settle in the middle, but once he found his touch, he relentlessly attacked the Irish bowlers and ended up with six fours and two sixes.
Suryakumar Yadav - 1/10
Suryakumar Yadav had a forgettable outing in Dublin. Making his return to the team, Yadav was trapped in front of the stumps first ball by Craig Young.
Hardik Pandya - 8/10
Captain Hardik Pandya impressed in all departments. He took the big wicket of Paul Stirling in the first innings and then scored a handy 12-ball 24. Pandya would only be disappointed with his economy rate as he went for 26 runs in two overs.
Dinesh Karthik - 7/10
Dinesh Karthik kept the wickets for India in this game. He took one catch behind the stumps and then scored five runs off four balls, completing the formalities with Deepak Hooda.
Axar Patel - 1/10
Axar Patel bowled only one over in the match. He conceded 12 runs in those six wicketless deliveries. Patel will be keen to improve his numbers in the second T20I.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar - 8/10
Bhuvneshwar Kumar started the match with a wicket maiden. He conceded 16 runs in his next two overs and ended with figures of 1/16. Kumar was the best performer among the pacers last evening.
Avesh Khan - 5/10
Avesh Khan dismissed Gareth Delnay in his first over, but Harry Tector scored big runs off him in the final over. Khan returned with figures of 1/22 in his two overs. He will aim to take better advantage of the pace-friendly conditions in the next game.
Yuzvendra Chahal - 9/10
Yuzvendra Chahal won the Man of the Match award for his spell of 1/11 in three overs. Chahal broke the fourth-wicket partnership between Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector.
He did not allow the Irish batters to play big strokes off his bowling and maintained an economy rate of 3.7 runs per over.
Umran Malik - 1/10
Umran Malik had a forgettable debut at The Village. Playing his first T20I for India, Malik got to bowl only one over, where he went for 14 runs. Malik would be disappointed with his performance in Dublin.
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