After a frustrating wait on his international debut in the rain-marred first T20I against Ireland, Indian Premier League (IPL) sensation Rinku Singh finally played his first knock for India and made it count with a 'Player of the Match' performance of 38 runs off 21 balls while batting at No. 5 in the second T20I in Dublin on Sunday.
Indian batsmen got the much-needed time in the middle and laid the foundation of the visitors' series-clinching 33-run victory.
A half-century by opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (58) and useful contributions in the middle by Sanju Samson (40), Rinku and Shivam Dube (22*) took India to a challenging 185/5.
Andrew Balbirnie then led the Irish chase with a 51-ball 72 but didn't find much support as two wickets each by skipper Jasprit Bumrah (2/15), Prasidh Krishna (2/29) and Ravi Bishnoi (2/37) restricted the hosts to 152/8, and India won by a comfortable margin of 33 runs.
But it was Kolkata Knight Riders' 25-year-old dasher Rinku who became the toast of the nation and was hailed on social media for his arrival with a bang on the international scene.
