Senior India pacer Jasprit Bumrah returned to international cricket with a bang, taking two wickets in the first T20I against Ireland on Friday. Bumrah who is also leading the Indian side struck twice in his very first over, scalping the wickets of Andy Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker. Post being smashed for a four, Bumrah crashed Balbirnie's stumps on the very next delivery. He took another wicket in the same over, dismissing Tucker with his extra pace.
Talking about the game, Bumrah won the toss and decided to field first in the opening match of the three-match T20I series. Apart from Bumrah’s comeback, fans also witnessed Rinku Singh and Prasidh Krishna making their debut in the shortest format.
Jasprit Bumrah at the time of the toss said, "We'll bowl first, very happy to be here. The weather looks lovely. I feel good, looking forward to play some cricket. You realising what you were missing, very happy to be back. We expect nothing short of a fight from Ireland. As a fast bowler, I hope the pitch does something. We have two debuts - Rinku and Prasidh Krishna. Told them to just enjoy their cricket."
Ireland were restricted to just 139 runs after 20 overs as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. It was Barry McCarthy's unbeaten fifty that helped the Irish side to post a competitive total of 139 runs. Bumrah who is making a comeback after 11 months ended with the figures of 2/24 while Prasidh scalped 2/32.
India Playing XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah(c), Ravi Bishnoi.
Ireland Playing XI: Paul Stirling(c), Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker(w), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young, Joshua Little, Benjamin White.