Ravichandran Ashwin takes brutal dig at Ireland after their top order failed to fire against India in first T20I

After plenty of debates over the past few months, the ace India pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, made his much-anticipated comeback. Much to the fans' delight not only did he resume his bowling services but also ended up doing a double whammy. Besides him, debutant Prasidh Krishna also marked his comeback in white-ball format. After early jolts given by skipper Bumrah, other bowlers also chipped in as Ireland had the worst of the starts in the first game of the T20I series.

As a result, the home side were stuttering at 59/6 in 10.3 overs. Even though Barry McCarthy (51* off 33 balls) and Curtis Campher (39 off 33 balls) helped the home side to make some recovery to post a respectable total (139/7) on the board, considering the overcast conditions in Dublin. However, veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin came down heavily on the Irish side and questioned their will to compete against a talented bowling trio in the form of Bumrah, Krishna and Arshdeep Singh, respectively.

Last time India toured Ireland for T 20 s, the home side were more than competitive but this time I really doubt there would be a fight.

We won a game defending 225 by 4 runs last time!

This attack consisting of Arshdeep, Bumrah and Prasidh might just be too much to handle.…

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) August 18, 2023

“Last time India toured Ireland for T20s, the home side were more than competitive but this time I really doubt there would be a fight. We won a game defending 225 by 4 runs last time! This attack consisting of Arshdeep, Bumrah and Prasidh might just be too much to handle. #INDvsIRE,” Ashwin wrote on his 'X' account.

Bumrah triggered Ireland's collapse before rain stopped India's run chase in first T20I

Meanwhile, speaking of the ongoing rain-marred first T20I, Team India captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and elected to bowl first in overcast conditions, at Malahide, in Dublin. The pacer marking his glorious international return led his side from the front by scalping two wickets in his first over to keep the visitors in the box seat. On just the second ball of the first over, Andrew Balbirnie ended up chopping his delivery onto the stumps. Thereafter, Lorcan Tucker tried to attempt a ramp shot off Jasprit Bumrah's bowling but got dismissed for a duck.

Besides, debutant Prasidh Krishna too chipped in as he took his maiden T20I wicket in the form of Harry Tector (9 runs). Leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi too started well as skipper Paul Sterling (11 runs) failed to read his googly variation and got cleaned up before the hosts finished with something to fight for in the first game of the series. Speaking of India's run chase, openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad started well. However, India lost two wickets at the score of 46 in quick succession before rain interrupted to stop the play. India are currently 47/2 after 6.5 overs and need 93 runs more to take a lead in the series.