Rohit, Dhawan make merry in India victory

Put into bat, Rohit made amends for his poor IPL form with a breathtaking 97 off 61 balls in company of an in-form Shikhar Dhawan, who smashed 74 off 45 balls as India made 208 for five. 

In reply, Ireland could make only 132 for nine. James Shannon (60 off 35 balls) was the only batsman to offer some resistance. India’s opening pair put on 160 in 16 overs to set the foundation.  

However, India lost three wickets in the final over, preventing them from scoring in excess of 225, which looked likely on a placid track. Young right-arm medium pacer Peter Chase finished with career-best figures of 4 for 35 with a memorable 20th over in which he accounted for Mahendra Singh Dhoni (11), Rohit and skipper Virat Kohli (0). 

Rohit went for a wild slog and was bowled thereby missing out his hundred by a whisker. His innings had eight fours and five sixes while Dhawan five boundaries and an equal number of maximums. 

Rohit-Dhawan completed 1000-run in the form of their partnership in T20 Internationals. India’s 100 came up in the 11th over. Dhawan reached his seventh T20 half-century off 27 balls, while Rohit’s 15th T20 half-century came off 39 balls.

BRIEF SCORES: India 208 for five in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 97, Shikhar Dhawan 74, P Chase 4/35) beat Ireland 132 for nine in 20 overs (James Shannon 60, Kuldeep Yadav 4/21, Yuzvendra Chahal 3/38)