Backed Umran Malik in the final over as he would be difficult to hit: Hardik Pandya

With 17 needed off the final over, Hardik Pandya tossed the ball to Umran Malik, who held his nerve to help India win the game by four runs to clinch the series 2-0.  Chasing 226, Ireland got within touching distance in the second T20 International (T20I) in Dublin, but India hung on to a closely-fought victory.

Hardik's logic behind handing the ball to Malik was the fact that the betters would not be able to get him away at his pace. That was the case as the Irish batters could not get their bat on the ball on more than one occasion in the over.

"Not worried to be honest. Wanted to keep pressure out of my equation, wanted to be in the present. I backed Umran since he has pace. With his pace, it's difficult for people to hit," Hardik said, explaining the rationale behind giving Umran the crucial final over.

Hardik also lauded Ireland for their effort and thanked the crowd for their support. 

"I think we've come to play a game of cricket, so Ireland were going to show us what they have. Credit to them, they played amazing shots. At the same point of time, credit to our bowlers to cross the line.

"The crowd was amazing. Their favourites boys were Dinesh and Sanju, great to see them enjoy them. Good for us to experience cricket in this part of the world too. Grateful to the fans," Hardik said to loud cheers.

Regarding the team's new faces, the skipper said, "Proud. As a child, it is everyone's dream to play the country. At the same point of time, leading and getting first victory and now first series win is special. Also happy for Hooda as well, the way he batted. And Umran."

Set an imposing target, Ireland showed a lot of heart and nearly pulled off what would have been a memorable victory. "We are all pretty good, we did a lot of good stuff with the bat. We wanted to express and we did that. Bitterly disappointed, a bitter pill to swallow," Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie said after the match.

"We wanted to make use of the powerplay and Paul (Stirling) did that brilliantly. He set the tone and I took some time. Our T20 cricket has been up and down. That sort of game is something that we want to do. We've gone toe to toe against a very good team. We can't let this be a flash in the pan." 

(With inputs from PTI)