India were 47-2 in the seventh over and chasing 140 for victory when play was stopped due to rain; an unbeaten 51 from Barry McCarthy helped Ireland recover from 59-6 to post 139-7 in the first of a three-match T20 series
Friday 18 August 2023 19:21, UK
Jasprit Bumrah bagged two wickets in his first over of international cricket in 11 months as India beat Ireland in a rain-affected Twenty20 international.
India chose to bowl first after winning the toss in Dublin and Bumrah, back in action following a back injury and preparing for the Cricket World Cup in October, took two wickets in the opening over on his way to figures of 2-24.
Bumrah - the first bowler to captain India in T20s - conceded a first-ball boundary to Andy Balbirnie then bowled him the next ball, before getting Lorcan Tucker to edge behind in the same over. Ireland were reduced to 59-6 before rallying to reach 139-7 from their 20 overs.
The visitors reached 47-2 after 6.5 overs when rain forced the players from the field, resulting in no further play, with India winning by two runs via the DLS method and gaining the early advantage in the three-match series.
Bumrah was one of three India bowlers to take two wickets, with leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi claiming 2-23 and debutant Prasidh Krishna returning 2-32. Krishna claimed Harry Tector (nine) in his opening over and George Dockrell (one) in his next, both to catches.
Medium-pacer Arshdeep Singh, playing his first game for India since February 2020, removed Curtis Campher for 39 runs off 33 balls to end a 57-run stand in seven overs with Barry McCarthy (51 not out).
McCarthy plundered 14 runs off Prasidh in the 17th over and 21 runs off Singh in the last over for a career-best 51 not out from 33 balls, while Shivam Dube was also given an over to bowl in his first India appearance since February 2020.
Yashasvi Jaiswal hit a couple of boundaries in the first over bowled by Mark Adair and survived a comic run-out chance in the second over, where he ended up standing at the same end as Ruturaj Gaikwad before poor throws gave them a reprieve.
Gaikwad's pulled six off McCarthy in the fifth over lifted India above the DLS par score and Jaiswal hooked Josh Little for a six in the sixth over, only for seamer Craig Young (2-2) to take the wickets of Jaiswal (24) and Tilak Varma in successive balls.
The rain prevented Young from finishing the over and bowling a hat-trick delivery, with play unable to resume.
The second of three T20s takes place on Sunday, with the series concluding on Wedneday.
