IRE vs IND 2018, 2nd T20I: Just the Kind of Momentum we Wanted for England - Virat Kohli

Another dominating performance from India saw them thrash Ireland by a huge margin of 143 runs in the 2^nd and the final T20I at Malahide.

It was yet again a superb all-round performance from the Men in Blue. KL Rahul who made his comeback scored a brilliant 70. With the ball in hand, the son of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal was yet again quite spectacular bagging six wickets between them.

After batting first, it was skipper, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul who walked out in the middle to begin the proceedings. Kohli after looking good was dismissed for nine, as he top-edged a short of length delivery to the fine leg fielder.

Rahul played some exceptional shots to get going. Suresh Raina joined him at the other end. The duo shared a 106-run stand between each other which helped India register a big total in the end.

After smashing three fours and six sixes en route to his knock of 70 off 36 deliveries, Rahul got dismissed by Kevin O’Brien.

Meanwhile, Raina continued the good work and went on to score a fine half-century. He scored 67 off 45 deliveries. None other than Hardik Pandya provided the late impetus for India. He smashed an unbeaten 32 of just nine deliveries which included four and four sixes.

Ireland was never in the chase

Ireland was never in the chase losing wickets on a consistent basis. Umesh Yadav bagged the maiden wicket in the very first over, as he removed Paul Stirling.

Siddarth Kaul also managed to bag his maiden international wicket. However, the prime wreckers in chief were the spinners yet again. The wrist spinning duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal was quite terrific, and they finished with six wickets each.

Eventually, India completed a convincing victory which will surely keep them in the right stead ahead of the much sterner test against England.

Here is what winning skipper Virat Kohli said at the post-match presentation,

“Just the kind of momentum we wanted for England. A balanced performance from all departments. I’m having a headache now about whom to pick, but it’s a good problem to have.

It’s a great phase for Indian cricket, and I’m happy the youngsters are doing well and taking their chances. For us, the opposition doesn’t matter, and England will be the same. They can come hard, and we have the batting power to match that. England are a quality side, but we have the firepower to match them. All the guys in the team are working equally hard.

No one takes their place for granted, and the responsibility by the players has been taken by the players with both hands. The credit has to go to the players, and that takes all the pressure off me and the team management.”