The Indian pacers were on fire against Ireland in the opening T20I at the Malahide Cricket Club Ground, although skipper Jasprit Bumrah set the tone early on.
Bumrah produced a brilliant first over in his return to competitive cricket after being unable to play for over 11 months after suffering a lower-back stress fracture. He claimed the key wickets of Andrew Balbirnie as well as Lorcan Tucker. He also delivered a fantastic 19th over, allowing only one run and finishing with statistics of 2/24 inside four overs.
He said, “Not really, when you are captaining you are thinking more about the whole team and not just your performance. Very happy that the weather was helpful for the bowlers. In every game, you want more and you always search for a perfect game. Credit to them (Ireland) as well for keeping their nerves in a crisis.”
Very happy to be back and always good to contribute: Jasprit Bumrah
India proceeded on to win the match by two runs using the DLS technique, with Jasprit Bumrah being awarded Player of the Match. He was questioned about whether he was nervous because he was about to make a long-awaited comeback.
The Mumbai Indians pacer spoke to the reporters about the pressure and his mindset before coming into the game as captain. He said, “Felt very good. So many sessions I did at the NCA and the practice games. Did not feel like I missed out a lot or I’m doing something new so credit to the staff there. Very happy to be back and always good to contribute.”
Ireland battled back well after being down to 59/6 due to a 57-run combination involving Curtis Campher as well as Barry McCarthy. In 20 overs, the home team scored 139/7. In response, India had a slow start, with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad taking their time in the middle.
Craig Young grabbed two wickets in a single over and pushed India to 47/2 shortly after 6.5 overs before play was halted due to rain. India was two runs clear from the DLS par score, and that proved sufficient since no more play was permitted.
Fans react to Jasprit Bumrah’s comments after T20I captaincy debut against Ireland:
Bumrah said "When you are captaining, you are thinking more about your team and not just your performance". pic.twitter.com/2nloWKn59o
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 18, 2023
Yes! By doing captaincy,we don't need to show our skills!
— Aravind Salaar (@BeingAravind_) August 18, 2023
Bumrah – thin about the team
Rohit – think about the team
Tilak – think about the teamAnd they ask how mi is the best franchise in the world , anyway some pension franchise will disagree
— User45 (@140off113) August 18, 2023
Pleased to not hear process and unique kind of words after many days.
— Himanshu Pareek (@Sports_Himanshu) August 18, 2023
He's showing signs of becoming a good leader.
— The CrickFun (@TheCrickFun) August 18, 2023
His presence in the team is electric. The hopes are back with him. And god, u can listen to him all day. Gentle guy and sharp mind.
— Rathin Dutta ? (@IamRathinDutta) August 18, 2023
Goatprit Goatrah
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) August 18, 2023
Jaspreet Bumrah pic.twitter.com/Dwxa5X18TN
— Suresh Parmar® (@iamSureshParmar) August 18, 2023
Exactly! Team comes first.
— Home of T20 (@HomeofT20) August 18, 2023
Make T20 captain forever
— ???? (@bijjuu11) August 18, 2023
Yes and things are easier when you have a match winner as vice captain to guide the team
— AK (@Arjun8559) August 18, 2023
Bumrah showed better approach and good captaincy then pandya
— Arshad Shaikh (@arshad_shaikh97) August 19, 2023
But he can never be unique then
— arey yaarrrrrrrrrrf (@A_niche11) August 18, 2023
