HEAVY RAIN LEFT Ireland frustrated in their curtailed T20 international opener against India at Malahide, suffering a narrow two-run loss via the DLS method, despite Craig Young’s two wickets in two balls right before showers forced play to be suspended.

Ireland, put into bat, collapsed early on, falling to 31-5 before Curtis Campher and Barry McCarthy’s rescue act but Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad did just enough to keep them above the required score before the rain ended the proceedings.

India fielded two T20 debutants in Rinku Singh and Prasidh Krishna, with captain Jasprit Bumrah also returning after a long layoff. He proved he was back to his formidable best in his very first over. After electing to field, he bowled Andrew Balbirnie with a blistering delivery off just his second ball. Balbirnie got an inside edge onto his off stump, having taken a four off Bumrah’s first ball. 

Later in the over, Bumrah had a second. Lorcan Tucker tried to ramp a length ball but lobbed it straight up to Sanju Samson with the keeping gloves. Four overs later, Harry Tector went in exactly the same fashion, this time giving Krishna his first T20I wicket.

With Paul Stirling out two balls later for a run-a-ball 11, the collapse was on, leaving Ireland on 30-4 at the end of the powerplay. George Dockrell and Mark Adair couldn’t arrest the slide, leaving Ireland staring down the barrel. 

But Barry McCarthy’s late innings onslaught brought him a maiden T20 half-century and powered Ireland back into the game. He and Campher put on a 57-run partnership off 44 balls, accelerating towards the end of the innings to bring Ireland back in the game. Campher departed two overs before the end of the innings to a ripper of a yorker from Arshdeep Singh: that’s when McCarthy took on the scoring mantle solo.

Having already hit an enormous six into the trees, he took 21 off Arshdeep’s final over. A six off the penultimate ball was followed by a shoulder-height beamer from Arshdeep, giving McCarthy – on 45 at the time – the chance to get to fifty off a free hit on the final ball of the innings.

He did not disappoint. Served up a wide full toss, McCarthy flayed the ball over cover boundary for six. Having been on 59-6 in the 11th over, McCarthy’s boundary-fueled blitz gave Ireland a more defendable total of 139-7. Even so, a monumental effort was needed from Josh Little – fresh off his stint in the Hundred – and the rest of the bowling attack.

India’s young, IPL-honed opening partnership set about keeping their rate above par score as the drizzle increasingly threatened play. Yashasvi Jaiswal took two boundaries off Mark Adair’s first over, taking advantage of the slight overpitching.

Little interrupted the flow of runs with his first play of the game, however, conceding three singles before he was sure he had Jaiswal caught behind off his fifth ball. Ultra-edge, though, showed the ball just missing the bat, doubly frustrating for Ireland after an easy runout chance had been missed just two balls earlier.

The India openers managed to hit just enough boundaries to stay ahead of the rate as the powerplay continued, Gaikwad hitting the first six of the innings with a pull behind square off McCarthy.

But, in the space of an over, Craig Young threatened to turn the game. He saw the end of Jaiswal with his second delivery, Stirling taking a swirling high catch, before getting Tilak Varma with his next. Varma was cramped for room by a short ball but got a feather edge down the leg side for Tucker to take a good diving catch. With India 46-2 and the DLS par score at 44, the game was finely balanced as the rain started to get heavier. 

Two balls later, it was too heavy to continue, and covers were brought out onto the pitch. As the rain turned into a deluge, play was unable to resume, giving India a two-run victory via the DLS method. It was a frustrating end to the game for the hosts after two pieces of individual genius right before the halt.

The second T20I will begin on Sunday, August 20, at 3pm.