IRE vs IND | Losing by four runs a bitter pill to swallow: Irish captain Andrew Balbirnie

Ireland tested India to their limits in the second and final T20I of the series, where the hosts lost by 4 runs, chasing a mammoth target of 226 runs. Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie, who top-scored for the side (60), called this loss against Hardik Pandya-led India bitterly disappointing and one that would be tough for the team to digest.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Balbirnie said, Yeah, we're all [feeling] pretty good. It's not every day you get that close against a team like India. We did a lot of good stuff with the bat. We said at the halfway stage there's just one way we're going to chase: go out and be expressive.

I think we did that, but we're bitterly disappointed when you come so close. It was a great game of cricket for everyone here. The crowd has been amazing [in] the last two games, but it's certainly a bitter pill to swallow now."

Balbirnie, alongside Paul Stirling, gave his side a blistering start in the powerplay before the latter fell for 40.

On their approach, he said, "Certainly make use of the powerplay," Balbirnie said. "That's a bit of a no-brainer. I thought Paul did that brilliantly. He went after Bhuvi in the first over and set the tone. 

I obviously took a bit more time to get going and eventually did. The opening partnership set the tone for the rest of the guys to come in and express themselves. I think they did that pretty well all the way down."

The right-hander lauded his team's efforts to take the match to the last over, despite facing a strong Indian side.

"I think at the moment it [the feeling] is a disappointment, but at the same time, we've gone toe-to-toe with a really good team [India]. We've put up a very good score, which on any other day will be a potentially winning score, but we have to take that confidence.

We play New Zealand next week in ODIs and T20s, and we have an exciting summer. We can't let this be a flash in the pan. We have to make sure we keep improving, going out with the same mindset in T20 cricket," the 31-year-old concluded.

The visitors scored 225 runs in the second match of the series, thanks to maiden-T20I hundred from Deepak Hooda and a quick-fire 77 from Sanju Samson.

India claimed the T20I series 2-0, having won the rain-truncated first T20I by seven wickets.

The white-ball squad will now travel to England, where they are scheduled to play two warm-up games before the start of T20Is against the hosts.