We had positives for the entire 40 overs: Paul Stirling

India may have secured an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the T20I series against Ireland, but things were far from perfect for the Men in Blue. The Irish nation had Barry McCarthy to stand up to the occasion in the first game, whereas Andrew Balbirnie was unstoppable in the second dig. 

Even with the ball, Ireland did manage to pull some strings, but that was never enough. However, they can take motivation from that to stage a bigger coup come Wednesday. 

“We had chances. We didn’t quite take it. We had positives for the entire 40 overs. I think we just let them get away in the last few overs. Their batters got going and were difficult to bowl to. We have areas to work on. We can turn it around and hopefully get a win,” Ireland captain Paul Stirling said in the post-match presentation.

Andrew Balbirnie was disappointed after he failed to draw level against India, with the Indian bowling targeting the other end. Balbirnie waged a lone battle, only to see Ireland 33 runs behind India’s total. 

“They are a highly skilled bowling unit. Kind of disappointed. We are playing good cricket. Hopefully can put on a better show in the last game. Guys trying to hit it off the first ball. Hopefully, we can get over the line on Wednesday. Friday was so close. We feel we can beat them if we play better,” Balbirnie added.