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India won the rain-affected first T20I of the three-match T20I series against Ireland on Thursday, August 18 at The Village in Malahide. Jasprit Bumrah-led Team India won by two runs via the DLS method after restricting Ireland to a score of 139 runs. Rinku Singh and Prasidh Krishna made their T20I debuts, however, the KKR star batsman couldn't get the opportunity to showcase his skills.
Ireland registered a target of 139 runs as Barry McCarthy (51*) and Curtis Campher (39) stood firm on the pitch when their side were six wickets down in 11 overs at 59 runs. For India, skipper Japrit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, and Ravi Bishnoi picked two wickets each while Arshdeep Singh also picked one wicket.
Ireland lost their first five wickets in 6.3 overs at a score of 31, however, the 57-run partnership for the seventh wicket between McCarthy and Campher helped Ireland reach a respectable total. Bumrah made a strong comeback after missing action for almost a year due to his back injury.
Before rain played the spoilsport, the Men in Blue openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave a decent start to India. They combined for 46 runs before Jaiswal got dismissed at 24 runs off 23 balls on the second delivery of the sixth over. Moments later, in-form batsman Tilak Varma lost his wicket on the first ball he faced, however, the match was stopped after a couple of deliveries when India were 47 for 2 after 6.5 overs.
