Twitter Reactions: Deepak Hooda shines as Hardik Pandya registers first victory as Team India skipper

Hooda opened the game and remained unbeaten throughout, scoring 47 off 29 balls.

By Vaishnavi Thiagarajan Iyer

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3 Min Read

Hardik Pandya
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Hardik Pandya. (Photo Source: BCCI)

The wait to see Hardik Pandya lead the Indian side for the first time ever, and to see Umran Malik make his international debut, kept longing as the rain played a spoilsport in the beginning phase. The first T20I between Ireland and India saw a 12-overs per side game with a couple of changes to the regular rules due to the rain. The covers were on for most of the time and the game started two hours and twenty minutes late from the scheduled time but India seized the opportunity perfectly to win the first game of the two-match series by seven wickets.

Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl first, at the Malahide Cricket Club in Dublin, before the game was cut short due to rains. As the game started, the Indian bowlers wreaked havoc and it looked like they were in it to win it. Bhuvneshwar Kumar started the innings with the new ball and picked up the opener and skipper Andrew Balbirnie for a duck. Pandya took charge of the second over and scalped his first in the form of Paul Stirling to become the first Indian skipper to pick a wicket in T20Is. It didn’t take long for Avesh Khan to get into his rhythm as he dismissed Gareth Delany (8 off 9) and Ireland’s top-order came crashing down.

Middle-order batter Harry Tector launched a counterattack after the team lost three quick wickets as Lorcan Tucker supported him brilliantly and the two added some big runs on the scoreboard. From 22/3 to 72/4, the duo shared a 50-run partnership and anchored the innings in the middle before Tucker (18 off 16) fell prey to spin wizard Yuzvendra Chahal who provided the Men in Blue with the much-needed breakthrough. While Tector (64* off 33) completed his half-century, a drop in the momentum helped India restrict the hosts at 108/4 in 12 overs.

Deepak Hooda and Hardik Pandya showed brilliance on the field

Speaking of India’s chase, surprisingly, Deepak Hooda opened alongside Ishan Kishan despite Ruturaj Gaikwad being in the XI. Kishan (26 off 11) has been in good form lately and he continued to march his way into this series, leading the attack from the front. After hitting a handful of boundaries, he was cleaned up by Craig Young and Suryakumar Yadav replaced him. India lost the second wicket in succession as Yadav was dismissed for a golden duck, courtesy of Craig Young.

Pandya (24 off 12) and Hooda were inevitable as they shared a brilliant 64-run stand which consisted of some pretty huge boundaries. Pandya’s dismissal brought Dinesh Karthik onto the field, but not much was remaining to be done. Hooda’s unbeaten 29-ball 47 sealed the deal as India won the game by seven wickets with 16 balls to spare. Pandya won his first-ever game as the Indian skipper to embark on a new journey as he will now look for a 2-0 series win.

Meanwhile, let’s look at how Twitter reacted to India’s triumph: 

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