India survived a mighty scare against a spirited Ireland side in the second and final T20I match on Tuesday at The Village, Dublin. India posted 225/7, but still needed Umran Malik to defend 17 runs in the last over. The four-run win helped the Hardik Pandya-led India win the series 2-0. On Sunday, India chased down a target of 109 runs in the rain-affected, 12-overs-a-side tour opener at the same venue for a seven-wicket win.
India won the toss again, and surprisingly, there was no rain. The visitors made three changes, bringing in Sanju Samson, Harshal Patel and Ravi Bishnoi. Samson and Deepak Hooda stitched a record 176-run stand for the second wicket. Hooda became the fourth Indian century maker after Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Suresh Raina in T20Is, hitting 107 off 57, while Sanju Samson (77 off 42) registered his maiden T20I half-century. But India lost a flurry of wickets towards the end.
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Ireland started the chase on a rousing note with openers Paul Stirling (40 off 18) and skipper Andrew Balbirnie (60 off 37) taking the fight to the Indian bowlers. Then Harry Tector (39 off 28), George Dockrell (34 off 16) and Mark Adair (23 off 12) kept the Irish hopes alive. But hosts fell short by just four runs. This was India's second-closest win in a T20I match, after their one-run victory against the West Indies in 2016. India have now won all five T20Is against Ireland. The focus will now shift to England for the fifth rescheduled Test match, starting July 3 (Sunday) at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Catch IRE vs IND, 2nd T20I match highlights and cricket scores.
