Prasidh Krishna suffered a memorable return to India’s T20I side as Ireland’s middle order smashed him in the opening T20I at the Civil Service Cricket Club on Friday.The fast bowler conceded 27 runs in his fourth over, making it the costliest over scored by an Indian against Ireland in T20I cricket. A tough outing also saw another unwanted record attached to his name, with Prasidha conceding 125 runs in his last two T20I appearances, the most by any bowler in back-to-back T20Is. India made a perfect start after deciding to field first. Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh reduced Ireland to 32/3 with the removal of Ross Adair, Harry Tector and Tim Tector inside the Powerplay, pushing the hosts firmly into second place.However, Irish captain Lorcan Tucker and Gareth Delany made excellent recoveries. Tucker anchored the innings with a 36-ball 50, while Delany counter-attacked with a 31-ball 49 to regain the momentum.Prasidh’s difficult evening began in the seventh over when Benjamin Calitz launched him for two big sixes. Although Calitz was dismissed soon after, Ireland saved their biggest attack for the death overs.By the time Tucker had returned to the pavilion, George Dockrell joined Delany to launch a brutal attack. The pair targeted Prasidh in the 17th over, smashing 27 runs through three sixes and two boundaries, completely shifting the momentum in Ireland’s favour. It turned out to be the most expensive over ever bowled by an Indian against Ireland in a T20I.Dockrell contributed a brisk 19 off just 10 deliveries before Axar Patel completed his cameo, while Delany fell woefully short of a deserved half-century when he was dismissed for 49 in the penultimate over.Despite India’s excellent start with the ball, Ireland’s brisk middle-order defense took them to a competitive 182/9 in 20 overs.Harshit Rana was India’s top performer with figures of 3/24, while Arshdeep Singh (2/28) and Axar Patel (2/33) provided valuable support. But for Prasidh Krishna, it was an outing to forget as his return to T20I cricket ended with two unwanted records.
