India vs Ireland: Clear skies expected in Malahide as Men in Blue eye series-clinching win in 2nd T20I

After going 1-0 up with a narrow win in a rain-truncated game on Friday, India will be aiming to clinch the three-match series against Ireland with a match to spare when the two sides lock horns in Malahide on Sunday.

In a game that witnessed the debuts of Prasidh Krishna and Rinku Singh, senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah made a superb comeback after a year-long absence, striking twice in the very first over of the innings after opting to field and finishing with figures of 2/24.

Bumrah’s early strikes helped India seize control early, and had Ireland on the mat at 59/6 at one stage before valuable contributions from Barry McCarthy (51 not out) and Curtis Campher (39) helped the hosts bounce back in the second half and post a respectable 139/7 on the board.

Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, in reply, managed to get India off to a positive start, preserving their wickets till the end of the powerplay. Despite Craig Young striking twice in his first over, removing Jaiswal (24) and Tilak Varma (0) in successive deliveries before rain made its way to the Malahide Cricket Club Ground near Dublin.

As no further play was possible due to incessant rain, India were declared winners as they were two runs ahead of the par score.

Will it rain again on Sunday though? Or are we going to have a full 20-overs-a-side contest? Here’s the weather forecast for Malahide for the match day:

Cricket fans are in for some good news with Sunday’s forecast for Malahide reading “Mostly sunny and beautiful”, according to Accuweather. With a 25 per cent probability of rain and a 21 per cent cloud cover, the likelihood of the two teams battling it out under clear skies appear quite likely.

Only fitting for both teams as well as for Cricket Ireland given the strong turnout that they had witnessed in the series opener, with a healthy smattering of blue jerseys and the Indian tricolour in the stands at The Village.