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While fast bowlers like Matthew Hollard, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh flourished at the Stormont Cricket Ground in Belfast, Prasidh Krishna had a bad day at the office. He gave away runs in the first T20 match against the Irish team.
In the conditions away to Ireland, where the fast bowlers should have had extra bounce, movement and support from the pitch, Krishna conceded 57 runs in 4 overs without taking a single wicket; Economy rate 14.25.
Better return than forget for Prasidh Krishna
Partway through the match, the seamer made his return to the format for the Indian cricket team. If he had taken a few wickets or bowled economically, the comeback could have been memorable. Prasidh Krishna did none of these.
Instead, he offered a bag full of runs to the opposing team’s batsmen. During one over in the first innings of the match, Ireland’s middle-order batsman Gareth Delany, who scored 49 off 32, gave back-to-back maximums to Krishna for three runs, helping the team score 27 runs from that over.
Ireland made a great comeback against India
Against the new ball and on a fresh pitch the top order of the Irish batting order looked fragile. Within the first eight overs of the first innings, only 4 wickets fell on the scoreboard for 51 runs. From there, thanks to 50 runs from Gareth Delaney and newly elected Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker, the home team scored a total of 182 runs for 9 wickets in 20 overs.
Prasidh Krishna’s four overs could be one of the turning points of the match, as those four overs allowed the Irish batsmen to score runs at a good strike rate. According to statistics, by conceding 27 runs in a single over, Krishna now owns the most expensive over bowled by an Indian against Ireland in T20I cricket.
The experienced seamer earned another unwanted record thanks to his forgettable bowling numbers in Belfast tonight. He conceded 125 runs in his last two T20I matches, the most by any bowler in consecutive T20Is.
Prasidh’s first red flag came when Benjamin Calitz hit him for two big sixes in the seventh over of the innings. Benjamin Calitz’s innings did not last long, but those two strokes were enough to expose the fast bowler’s weakness.
Prasidh Krishna scored 27 runs in death overs
Prasidh Krishna’s 27-run over came during the death overs, when a well-set Gareth Delany was on deck. On the other hand, it was George Dockrell. Dockrell welcomed Prasidh Krishna with open arms by hitting a four and then took a single and gave his batting partner the opportunity to take strike.
Delaney, who was by then a set batsman at the wicket, did not take long to play the big shots. He first hit a four and then three consecutive sixes against the famous Krishna.
If the first half of the innings was in the name of Indian bowlers, then the last few overs of the innings were in the possession of Ireland. George Dockrell also played a key role, as he scored 19 runs in just 10 balls.