Deepak Hooda produced a master-class knock, becoming only the fourth Indian to hit a T20 International century, as the visiting side posted a mammoth 225 for 7 against Ireland in the second and final match in Malahide on Tuesday.
During his maiden T20I ton (104 off 57 balls), Hooda showed he belonged to the big stage with his scintillating stroke play, both off the front and the backfoot.
While Hooda was elegant and at ease on the frontfoot, he was equally good on the backfoot, dispatching the ball over the midwicket boundary for a few sixes.
Hooda decorated his knock with nine 4s and six hits over the fence. He was ably supported by Sanju Samson, who, opening the batting in place of injured Ruturaj Gaikwad, played second fiddle but grabbed his opportunity with both hands.
Samson made 77 off 42 balls with the help of nine boundaries and four sixes.
Both Hooda and Samson's strokeplay down the ground were a treat for the eyes.
But India did not have the best of starts as they lost Ishan Kishan (3) early in the third over. The left-handed opener wasted an opportunity, nicking a Mark Adair delivery to Lorcan Tucker behind the stumps in the third over.
Hooda and Samson joined hands and the duo batted effortlessly, albeit handing two difficult chances, to share 176 runs off just 85 balls to lay the foundation for India's huge total.
It was a one-way traffic after Kishan's dimissal as Hooda and Samson toyed with the Irish bowlers and did not let them settle down.
Except for a difficult chance that Paul Stirling dropped at extra-cover in the eighth over, Hooda played a perfect knock.
The Twitterati as usual blew out of proportions. Here's how Twitter reacted to India's batting display in the series finale at The Village:
So happy for Sanju Samson. First half century for Indiaim T20I’s. And loving the partnership with Deepak Hooda by the way👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) June 28, 2022
Loved that @IamSanjuSamson! Such a pleasure to see the amount of support for our Captain 🙌#RoyalsFamily — Jake Lush McCrum (@JakeLushMcCrum) June 28, 2022
Wonderful 💯 this from Hooda.Such an impact player in this format.Selection committee will have a huge head ache to select a squad of 15 for the T20WC with a plenty of players performing well.
— Prasanna (@prasannalara) June 28, 2022
Hooda is batting so good that even Samson has decided not to throw his wicket after 30's and 40's just to watch him up close. — Heisenberg ☢ (@internetumpire) June 28, 2022
There is a shade of Virat Kohli in the way Suryakumar jumps out of his seat and celebrates his teammates knocks
— Aniket Mishra (@aniketmishra299) June 28, 2022
India has enough IPL firepower to field two, if not three, full-strength T20 sides. And it is just a matter of picking the right one for the WC. Question is if the selectors are willing to learn from the 2021 debacle and pick the right one. #IREvIND — Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) June 28, 2022
With inputs from PTI
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