India vs Ireland 1st T20: Hardik's men demolish the hosts, take series lead

Hardik Pandya had an impressive captaincy debut as Team India tamed Ireland in the 1st T20 in Dublin, winning a rain-reduced game comfortably by 7 wickets. They have now taken an unassailable 1-0 lead in the 2-match series.

India's jinx with the toss finally ended as the coin came down in Hardik's favour. His decision to bowl first proved right as the hosts were reduced to 22/3. Harry Tector though counter-attacked with a fiery 33-ball-64 and helped Ireland finish at 108/4 in their 12 overs.

Chasing which, Ishan Kishan cut loose but India lost 2 wickets on consecutive balls and found themselves at 30/2. Hardik was on the charge straight away and scored a quick 24. Deepak Hooda, who was asked to open the batting, made most of the opportunity and smashed an unbeaten 47 off just 29 balls to carry India over the finish line with 16 balls to spare.

Also read: Indis vs Ireland 1st T20: Bhuvneshwar Kumar achieves a unique feat