Top knocks from captain Andrew Balbirnie (60), Paul Stirling (40) and Harry Tector (39) went in vain as India snatched the match from Ireland in the last over, winning the last-ball thriller by four runs here at The Village in Dublin on June 28.
With this, India have won the series 2-0. Ireland though will walk away with a lot of positives as they were in the match till the very last ball and gave India a scare of the lifetime with their batting. Chasing 228, Ireland was off a good start as the opener Paul Stirling hit the opening over of pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 18 runs, hitting him for 6,4,4,4.
Irish batters kept punishing Indian bowlers, putting them under severe pressure, particularly Bhuvneshwar. The duo of Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie brought their 50-run stand in just 23 balls.
Spinner Ravi Bishnoi finally delivered the breakthrough for India, dislodging the stumps of the danger man Stirling, who scored 40 off 18.
Batting first, India was not off a good start, losing Ishan Kishan for just 3.
This brought Deepak Hooda to the crease, who joined the opener Sanju Samson.
The duo brought their 100-run stand in just 55 balls. Samson also brought up his first T20I fifty in 31 balls.
Hooda soon brought up his maiden T20I century in just 55 balls, becoming the only fourth Indian to hit a century in the format.
India finished off their 20 overs at 227/7, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1*) and Pandya (15*).
(ANI)