(Cricket news) India won the T20I series against Ireland 2-0. The first match was very comfortable while the second one went down to the last ball. Despite being whitewashed, Ireland played really well and made India work really hard for both the wins. Hardik Pandya captained India for the first time and did a good job. He will surely be in the core group of leaders in the future for the men in blue. There were a lot of good things that happened for India in this tour.

Deepak Hooda was named the Player of the Series for scoring 151 runs in 2 matches. He opened in the first match and batted at number 3 in the second, both times he did an incredible job. His power hitting was on another level all together. Hooda was on the bench for the entire South Africa series but he has now made the most of his opportunities. Hooda along with Sanju Samson got a partnership of 176 runs in the second match which was the highest for India in a T20I. Samson got an opportunity in the 2nd T20I after Ruturaj Gaikwad's injury and scored his maiden T20I fifty. 

The Indian bowlers didn't have an amazing series but they did the job. Both wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi played one match each. They adapted well to the conditions and bowled good spells in the middle overs. Umran Malik made his international debut and picked up his first wicket in Indian colours. He also successfully defended 16 runs in the last over of the 2nd match when he was under a lot of pressure. Hardik Pandya gave himself the responsibility of bowling in the powerplay but didn't do particularly well. His bowling form is a bit of a concern but there is still time for him to work on it before the World Cup.

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