Bumrah makes comeback in rain-hit affair in Malahide

Jasprit Bumrah made his long-awaited comeback to international cricket in a rain-soaked 1st T20I against Ireland that saw team India get over the line by two runs via the DLS method. Led by Bumrah’s new-ball exploits, the Men in Blue skittled Ireland to 59/6, but Barry McCarthy’s well-made 33-ball 51* dragged the hosts to a respectable score of 139/7 batting first.

In reply, the Indian openers gave the Men in Blue a strong start in the powerplay, keeping them marginally ahead of the DLS par score just as the rain arrived to abandon the game, giving Jasprit Bumrah’s side a narrow two-run win at Malahide.

This series marked Jasprit Bumrah’s return to international cricket after 11 months, with the seamer leading a new-look Indian team in three T20Is against Ireland. It didn’t take long for the pacer to find his mark on his comeback as he picked up two wickets in his first over. Andrew Balbirnie chopped an inswinging delivery from Bumrah onto his stumps before Lorcan Tucker ramped the third delivery he faced straight to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.

Prasidh Krishna also made his long-awaited return to the game after a year on the sidelines and joined in on the action in the fifth over with the wicket of Harry Tector. The pacer also had George Dockrell fending a hard-length delivery to short cover, while Ravi Bishnoi cleaned up the skipper Paul Stirling and had Mark Adair adjudged LBW via a DRS referral, leaving Ireland reeling at 59/6 at the halfway mark.

However, Curtis Campher and Barry McCarthy rescued the hosts from their top-order collapse with a stunning counterattack at the death overs. The pair kept the boundaries flowing to take Ireland past 100 and stitched a 57-run stand before Arshdeep cleaned up Curtis Campher with a yorker. The left-armer, though, conceded 22 runs in the final over as Barry McCarthy launched two sixes and a four to help Ireland score 53 of the last five overs and set up a fighting total.

Chasing 140, the Indian openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal got the visitors off to a watchful start. The duo added just 22 runs off the first four overs before turning on the aggression as a drizzle emerged, taking 23 off the final two overs of the powerplay to keep India ahead of the par score.

Craig Young dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma in consecutive balls in the seventh over to pull Ireland back into the contest. But Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad safely negotiated the next two deliveries before the rain came down to end the game, giving India a narrow two-run win via the DLS method.