It was 17 runs from the final and the choice before Hardik Pandya was to either bowl himself, give Axar Patel a shot, or have young Umran Malik. Unfortunately, it seemed at first that Ireland had the wrong batsman on strike. Not the enraged George Dockrell whose blitz nearly brought India to its knees, but the lower order batsman Mark Adair.
Two point balls came as Malik produced two quick deliveries, but then that second point was a no ball. Adair then smashed two consecutive borders – a scythe through the tip and good old outside edge – and took a single one to send Dockrell on strike. With 7-of-2 and the play on the line, Malik produced his best ball of the game, a screaming Yorker that just missed the stumps and they ran over to the bye. Adair was only able to get a single out of the last ball, a short delivery outside and India had won. Hardik smiled and Malik blew a kiss into the sky. Dockrell winced, knowing he’d missed a great opportunity to pull off a robbery.
But before Dockrell it was Stirling. And to understand what Stirling did, we have to go back to 2019 when he was in London at his friends house and watching Ben Stokes on TV.
Mission 🇮🇪 accomplished!
Next ➡️ 🏴!📸: @BCCI | #IREvIND #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/kmXzInUD9y
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) June 28, 2022
Wishing he were Stokes for some time, Paul Stirling played the memorable Ashes tap at Headingley in 2019. When Stokes flashed the match-winning cut and roared like a Viking, Sterling thought Stokes had reached “the pinnacle of the game.” In his mind he’s been playing that knock as if he were Stokes himself ever since.
He failed to stokes on Wednesday as he missed the finish but it was he who launched the bold Irish attack on India’s 225. On the third ball of the chase, he snuck over to an inswinger and stabbed a stunning six over midwicket with the short arm. The next ball was the outswinger, but Stirling was ready; This time, the burly hitter ran his hands through the line, covering the swing and knocking it up and over cover. The next disappeared in a back square leg before shoving one through the cover point as four boundaries flowed into the over.
India vs Ireland t20 last over#India #Ireland #HardikPandya #T20 @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/5qx8VTGMO0
– Samkohli (@Samkohli10) June 28, 2022
Hardik Pandya came in with a bouncer thrown back from beyond the fine-leg line. A few more borders came and it was clear that Ireland would not perish in surprise. Sterling certainly wasn’t. He pulled an incredible straight six off leggy Ravi Bishnoi – from the back foot over the bowler’s head, and even as he touched the ball, Sterling somehow side-stepped without even looking at the ball.
Despite falling over like that, missing a Googly, he had the fire lit and one by one his teammates kept it burning bright.
Captain Balbirnie’s rapping was a bewildering eclectic mix. There were plenty of point bullets, but every now and then it was pierced by a massive six – five of them. Every time it looked like Balbirnie was going to slack off, he’d suddenly blurt out alive with a six on the side of his leg. Umran Malik’s bouncers were blown away for a couple of sixes and Harshal Patel lapped for a fine leg six but he fell on the next ball and was caught at the deep point.
But the Irish baton had passed to George Dockrell. On air, Graeme Swann said that when Dockerll played, he was just a weirdo who could hit a bit and was confused by the version that was now in front of him. A low-order racquet that rarely bowls. The Indians kept losing their nerve, bid full balls down the middle and up the leg, and Dockerell kept smashing them, just like India’s Deepak Hooda before.
2⃣ matches
1⃣5⃣1⃣ Running@HoodaOnFire put on a stunning show with the racquet and bagged the Player of the Series award #TeamIndia completed a clean sweep in the 2-match T20I series against Ireland. 👍 👍#IREvRND pic.twitter.com/FsqSFl1zWg— BCCI (@BCCI) June 28, 2022
Shape-holding hooda hits a ton
In Deepak Hooda you can see a great example of the “form” that all T20 generation batsmen are talking about. The way they line up at the crease and how they position their bodies as their hands wade through the line. Of all the canings that Hooda received, two types of punches for this “form” stood out. The on-the-up through-the-line bets just got lofted and the crunchy pulls.
The best example of the former came in the round of 16 of the inning ahead of seaman Conor Olphert. At that moment, Graeme Swann called it the shot of the knock, and it was. Even looking it up, he ticked a few boxes for that shape: the high left elbow that held the body position together even after the racquet made contact with the ball. Hooda, like the modern batsmen, slides her hands through the shot and stretches it to the climax without relaxing to the end. The upper body remains firm, the head does not tilt up and this form is maintained.
Maiden CENTURY for Deepak Hooda in international cricket 💪 #IREvIND pic.twitter.com/HQFADLbuSS
– Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) June 28, 2022
The second shot – the train – was far more appealing to the crowd in the tree-lined park. There, too, there is a method and a science that stands out. As if created by an animation artist. In fact, Hooda’s move is similar to the Stickman’s inclusion in the Stick Cricket Effects video game. His body also goes through similar movements – a feeling of solidity. In fact, either because of his racquet or the sound that transmitters make these days, even the sound of the racquet’s fleshy contact with the ball in the strokes sounds right out of that game.
Or in other words, hoodas, like many hitters, create violence in a scientific way. It’s not just letting go like it used to be, but a well thought-out manual beating.
The crowd certainly loved Hooda’s pulls, especially when he sent one mid-wicket and through the trees.
And his emotions came out when he reached 100, the fourth Indian after Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Suresh Raina to reach it. He first gently hugged Suryakumar Yadav before suddenly collapsing into a bear hug. He certainly took his chances in this series that followed a good performance in the IPL.
Sublime Samson mixes style with substance
It seemed like Sanju Samson promised himself that he wouldn’t go into that shot-a-ball mood that he can get into at times and has gone down in history to his detriment. Of all the silky takes that had commentators gasping and the crowd gasping in delight, there was one chunky square drive in the 7th over that stuck with me.
Craig Young’s stupid 85 mph ball down the off-stump line was pretty decent, and for most of his trajectory Samson hadn’t moved much, if at all. There he stood and waited. And wait. Or so it seemed. Suddenly his hands moved to aesthetically knock the ball through the point of coverage. It was probably his best recording of the rapping, which had multiple wrist slaps.
5⃣0⃣ for Sanju Samson 🙌 #IREvIND pic.twitter.com/ZtiSpJpPTX
– Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) June 28, 2022
Unlike Hooda, Samson’s swing is fluid, which is emphasized by his loose overhand grip. All the typical touchpoints of a Samson knock were on display: the look, the flick, the pull across the middle to a short ball outside, and the pulling off of legspinner Gareth Delany, whose numbers were 4-0-43-0, hiding the fact that he was the best bowler in the world. A couple of times he briefly dropped her, the ball was thrown from the stands, but for the main part Delany showed a big heart. Consistency full at a length, invites the hits and twists it a bit to thwart the batsmen’s intent. Samson also unleashed a special shot against Delany. It was a good leg break, spinning off the leg and midline, but Samson didn’t go over the line. Instead he covered for the turn and slipped his hands through the line and it flew up and down to land on the viewscreen.
In the end it was Ireland that won hearts, but tell that to the dejected Dockrell the moment he realized that after all the hard work, he wasn’t going to end up with the treasure in the end. Up to that last moment, Ireland had wed style, substance, courage, big heart and much struggle, and almost got there. Only 5 runs are missing to a dreamlike victory.