IRE vs IND: Hardik Pandya becomes 1st Indian skipper to take T20I wicket

India completed a routine victory against the Ireland side on Sunday, 26th June in front of a full house at The Village in Dublin. Hardik Pandya, who was appointed the skipper for this tour, had a memorable outing as he became the first Indian captain to bag a T20I wicket.

The Indian skipper won the toss and elected to bowl first, and veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar drew the first blood after dismissing the Irish skipper in the first over of the innings. The all-rounder then brought himself in the attack in the second over but was greeted with a boundary by the experienced Paul Stirling. Pandya had his revenge on the very next ball as he had Stirling caught by Deepak Hooda inside the circle.

Notably, Hardik is the ninth Indian player to lead the side in this format of the game and he got his name in the record books after that wicket as he became the only Indian captain to bag a wicket in a T20I match. None of the previous captains Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Rishabh Pant were able to achieve this feat.

Although Kohli, Raina, and Rohit have wickets to their name in T20Is, they didn’t come in their respective captaincy stints.

Hardik Pandya holds the key for the Indian team

The 28-year-old was magnificent for Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2022 as he led them to their maiden title in their debut season. The aggressive all-rounder added another dimension to his batting as he played the role of the anchor by playing throughout the innings and allowing others to play with more freedom. But since his return to the Indian team, he has changed his game once again and reverted to his naturally aggressive batting down the order.

The Gujarat Titans man was in a menacing mood on Sunday against the hosts as he scored a quickfire 24 off 12 when Deepak Hooda was getting his eye in. Pandya’s role in the team has become more crucial recently as India search for a perfect balance in the team in preparation for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.