IRE vs IND | Ice cool Umran holds his nerve as India deny spirited Ireland in high-scoring thriller

Umran Malik's pin-point yorker on the penultimate delivery of the game helped India get a jail-break against a spirited Ireland team, who ensured that they made the visitors sweat till the last moments of their innings despite having 225 in the bank.

Umran must be a relieved man in the end, for he nearly made a mess of all the good work he had earlier in the 20th over by overstepping and then conceding two fours to reduce the equation down to 8 off 3.

However, it proved to be a heartbreaking end for George Dockrell, who nearly pulled off one of the greatest heists of his career courtesy off an unbeaten 16-ball 34*, and the home side as Umran came back brilliantly at the back-end.

In the end, though, it proved to be a perfect T20 team; a game that saw more than 400 runs and 25 sixes being plundered; a game that was high on drama, quality stroke play, some great bowling, exceptional fielding followed by high-octane climax. 

Needing 226 to win, Ireland got off to a near perfect start as the legendary Paul Stirling provided them with a perfect launch pad courtesy of a whirlwind 18-ball 40.

Just like all great batsmen do, Stirling attacked the best bowler of the opposition attack. In this case, it was Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the receiving end.

Stirling hammered the veteran seamer for a six and three fours to get his side up and running. Andrew Balbirnie was slow to get off the blocks but once Stirling was dismissed by Ravi Bishnoi, the skipper took matters in his end and ended up hammering 60 off 37.

Ravi Bishnoi (1/41 in 4) took a bit of stick from Dockrell in his final over but he was easily India's best bowler on display. He could have also got Tector on the first delivery of his final over, had Samson pulled off one of the great diving catches in recent times.

Tector picked off from where he had left in the first game and along with Balbirnie staged the Irish revival following back-to-back setbacks in the form of Stirling and Gerath Delany, who was brilliantly run-out by Hardik.

They added 44 runs for the 3rd wicket in 4 overs before Harshal, who otherwise had a forgettable day at the office, sent Balbrinie packing.

Bhuvneshwar also had a rare bad at the office but the veteran still found a way to contribute as he dismissed the dangerous Tector for a 28-ball 39, thereby breaking a dangerous 47-run-stand between him and Dockrell.

Umran Malik finally got his maiden international wicket when Lorcan Tucker mistimed an attempted loft. 

However, Dockrell and Adair (23* off 12) smashed a couple of fours and a six off Bhuvi and Harshal in the 18th and 19th over to set-up a final showdown with Umran, which they eventually couldn't nail.

Centurion Hooda joins an elite list amid a record partnership stand for India

Earlier, India rode on a record 176-run stand between centurion Deepak Hooda (104 off 57) and Sanju Samson, who smashed a whirlwind 42-ball 77 to hammer 225 in 20 overs.

Having opted to bat first, the visitors got off to a poor start as they lost in-form opener Ishan Kishan for a 5-ball 3 in the 3rd over of their innings.

However, it did not deter Hooda and Samson as the duo embarked on a leather hunt in Malahide. 

Hooda picked off from where he had left in the first game and in the process, the Baroda swashbuckler became just the 4th Indian to score a hundred in a T20I, joining Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.

He got a lucky reprieve at the score of 34 thanks to Paul Stirling, who dropped a tough chance at point, and the 27-year-old ensured he made the most of it.

The most striking thing about Deepak's knock was the frequency of shots he played down the ground. Whenever the Irish bowlers bowled full, Hooda made sure he deposited them either over their head or towards the midwicket region.

He got able company in the form of Samson, who stepped up the gas brilliantly after managing 26 off his first 21 deliveries.

The duo turned the heat on the Irish bowlers in the 9th over and during the course of the next 8, they smashed 117 breathtaking runs, with Samson racing his way to a 40-ball 71.

In the process, Samson and Hooda broke Rohit and Rahul's record (165 v Lanka in 2017) of the highest T20I stand for India. They added 13 more runs to their tally before Mark Adair (3/42) sent Samson packing.

Hooda, meanwhile, brought up the coveted milestone with a single off his 55th delivery before Joshua Little ended his brilliant knock.

Ireland held things back in the last few overs as India suffered a mini collapse with Suryakumar Yadav departing cheaply followed by DK, Harshal and Axar, all of whom registered golden ducks.

The last two overs yielded just 13 runs thanks largely to Hardik, who remained unbeaten on 9-ball 13. As it turned out, it nearly proved to be fatal for them.

Brief Scores:

India 225/7 (20)

Deepak Hooda 104 (57), Sanju Samson 77 (42); 

Mark Adair 3/42 (4), Craig Young 2/35 (4)

Ireland 221/5 (20)

Andrew Balbirnie 60 (37), Paul Stirling 40 (18);

Ravi Bishnoi 1/41 (4), Umran Malik 1/42 (4)

India won by 4 runs.