Team India secured a 2-0 series win over Ireland on Tuesday in Dublin by winning the second and the final T20I of the series by just four runs. Even though India won the game, they survived a major scare as a spirited Ireland team almost pulled off a historic win before falling short by four runs, chasing India's target of 225.

Young Indian speedster Umran Malik, playing his 2nd game for India, held his nerves and defended 16 runs in the last over. But kudos to the home team for showing fantastic resilience and determination during the chase.

Deepak Hooda's maiden T20I ton and a whirlwind knock of 77 runs from Sanju Samson propelled India to 225 runs in 20 overs. However, the rest of the Indian batters failed to leave a mark and notched up a dubious record of 3 ducks in the same game.

Deepak Hooda had never opened before the tour of Ireland. He partnered with Ishan Kishan in the rain-curtailed first T20I and scored 29-ball 47 in India’s win, chasing a total of 104. In the second T20I, Deepak Hooda played first-down, highlighting his batting abilities.

The 27-year-old has also become the fourth Indian batter to hit a ton in T20Is after Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Suresh Raina and the third batter to do it overseas. He also bagged the Player of the Match and Player of Series and said, “I am coming from a good IPL, I was trying to follow up the same performance here as well. I like playing aggressively. Batting up the order, I have the time, I try to play according to the situation.”

“I had goosebumps scoring the hundred and winning at the same time. But I admit I did become a bit nervous but things turned out well,” Deepak Hooda told Sanju Samson in a video after the match. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared the video on social media.

“Sanju is my childhood friend, always good to bat with him. To be honest, I was coming from a good IPL and wanted to follow the same performance. Happy with my intent. I like playing in that manner (aggressive) and these days I am batting up the order so getting some time,” he elaborated.

Ireland, led by their skipper Andrew Balbirnie, launched a ferocious attack on the Indian bowlers and scored a remarkable half-century. Ireland's batters – Paul Sterling, Harry Tector, George Dockrell, and Mark Adair- made cameos and nearly pulled off a historic win over India.

The win might have secured the series for India, but several former cricketers are not convinced with India. Former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar believes this performance is a sign that bigger and greater things are on the way for Ireland.

He said, “After that partnership between Hooda and Samson, Ireland picked 6 wickets in the last four overs. They pulled back momentum with the ball and then this sublime batting. It was a good pitch; the stadium was not big enough. But this is a good Indian team, and to perform like this against them will give Ireland a lot of confidence. Brilliant show.”

“If after scoring 225, you are winning by just 4 runs, it means credit should be given to the chasing team (Ireland). They may not be among ICC's top teams, play fewer matches, but they stretched it till the last game. They batted well in the previous game too. It was because of their bowling that they lost the match. The team is good no doubt,” former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif added.

Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja felt that India was lucky to scrape through against Ireland and praised the superb batting display by the Irish batters. “It was closer than I would have liked it to be. I think India got away today. They are really lucky to have got away with a win,” he said.

“Scoring the number of runs that you did, the opposition that you were playing against. And to let them come this close, you really got away today. When you are playing a side like Ireland, you should have scored more. Did not think Ireland was going to get this close to the total,” he added.

Ex-England off-spinner Graeme Swann also credited Ireland for showing the fighting spirit and taking the game till the penultimate over.

“India won the game but Ireland played brilliantly today. They could have thrown in the towel, believing that 225 was way too much. They could have thought ‘it can be embarrassing if we go for it', but they didn't. They said ‘no, we're going for it. We're going all the way.' And they pushed India and nearly won the game,” he concluded.