Dugout Cricket News: Report Card on India Vs Ireland T20 series

Childhood friends set a new record for India against Ireland

The second T20I against Ireland was a charm for Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson. 

Deepak Hooda became the fourth Indian to score a ton in T20 International with the help of much able support from Sanju Samson on the other end to post a total of 225 for India. Deepak Hood produced a scintillating knock to show how the big stage belonged to him for the evening. While playing shots elegantly, he dispatched the ball across the ground to decorate his knock with nine boundaries and six maximums. He played all the short balls exceptionally well and looked at ease while playing on the front foot to bring his maiden international ton in just 55 balls. He was eventually dismissed at 104 off 57. 

Sanju Samson, who came in as a replacement for injured Ruturaj Gaikwad, grabbed the much-awaited opportunity gracefully. After debuting in 2015 against Zimbabwe, the batter barely got a chance to be included in the playing XI. In 2020, he got a few options but failed to play impactful knocks, which led him to be overshadowed by other players. However, this time, he did justice to the opportunity by smashing 77 off 42, consisting of nine fours and four sixes.

The partnership!

The duo of Samson-Hooda playing strokes down the ground were mesmerising to witness. They shared a 176-run stand of 85 balls to lay the strong foundation for a large total. Before this, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul stitched 165 as the highest partnership at 1st for India against Sri Lanka in 2017. Not only this, they surpassed Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan’s 167-run stand against South Africa to register the highest-ever partnership at the second wicket in T20Is.  

Deepak Hooda was adjudged as player of the match and the series for his 151 runs in the two innings; the batter quoted, “I am coming from a good IPL, I was trying to follow up the same performance here as well. I like playing aggressively. Batting up the order, I have the time, and I try to play according to the situation. Sanju is a childhood friend, we played U-19 together, I am happy for him as well. Ireland is very good, I enjoyed it a lot. Fans are superb here, I never feel like playing outside India. Yeah, the wicket is different, thanks to all the fans for the support.”