Rain, rain and more rain graced the fans, both Indian and Ireland cricket teams in Dublin as the third T20I on Wednesday, August 23 got called off. There was a forecast of 80 percent chance of rain during the match hours and it lived up to the billing. The toss was delayed due to rain. The rain became drizzle, then it got heavier again. After a couple of hours, the rain did ease off but the outfield had received a lot of water. The umpires inspcted the ground a couple of times in a span of half an hour but only to conclude that the game couldn't go ahead and India clinched the series 2-0.
It was a long wait for both players and the fans as they hoped for some contest but it wasn't to be. While it was a disappointing outing for the home side, the Indian team gained a few things from the series - the biggest being the return of Jasprit Bumrah, the pace ace who was out for 11 months owing to injury. Bumrah was fit and looked fit and bowled as well as he has done his all career and was the player of the series for how he led the side and took four wickets. Along with Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna also did well, taking four wickets in the two games, as he also returned from an injury after a year.
Another key aspect of the series was to witness the young guns, who are still new in international cricket. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who will be leading the second-string side in the Asian Games scored a mature fifty in the second T20I. Rinku Singh in his debut innings bagged a player of the match with a quickfire knock of 38 off 21.
Ravi Bishnoi was another highlight with the ball. The third T20I got called off, otherwise, the team management would have liked to take a look at Jitesh Sharma, who will be the first-choice wicketkeeper in the 19th Asian Games next month.
The next assignment for the Indian team is the Asia Cup and three players from this squad will be going to Bengaluru for the preparatory camp, Bumrah, Krishna and Tilak Varma, along with Sanju Samson, who is a travelling reserve for the continental event.
