IRE vs IND 1st T20I: Rohit-Dhawan wreck havoc; India posts 208/5

Dublin: A splendid 160-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan helped India rip apart the Ireland bowling attack and put up a huge score of 208/5 in the first of the two-T20I series at The Village ground here on Wednesday.

Peter Chase, the Irish paceman, bowled a brilliant last over picking up three wickets, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to reduce the total by at least 20 runs. They, however, paid the price for a poor fielding performance as they dropped many straight forward chances which could have reduced the target by at least 30 runs.

Sharma missed out on an opportunity to score his third century in Twenty20 Internationals and got out in the last over after scoring 97 runs off 61 balls with 8 fours and 5 sixes. Dhawan also played a huge role in elevating India's total beyond 200-run mark as he played a 74-run knock off only 45 deliveries and decorated his inning with 5 fours and 5 sixes.

Suresh Raina could not last long at the crease and scored only 10 runs off 6 balls with two fours, while MS Dhoni scored 11 runs off 5 balls with 1 four and a six. Skipper Virat Kohli failed to open his account and conceded his second duck in his T20I career.

Also Read: IRE vs IND 1st T20I: Ireland wins toss, India to bat

Hardik Pandya smashed a six off the only delivery he got to face while Manish Pandey did not get any balls to play.

Peter Chase bowled a memorable spell picking up four wickets for 35 runs in four overs, while Kevin O’Brian got one wicket of Dhawan, and conceded 36 runs in his three overs.

Ireland might not be a top class team like India but they have the potential to upset any world class team when they are playing at their home turf. Still, 209-run target in front of a full-fledged Indian bowling unit will be a huge task for Irish batsmen.