Gajanand Singh, Sushant Modani script fairytale to give USA historic win

History created!

December 22 will be remembered as a red-lettered day in the annals of USA cricket. The win was momentous in the sense that it is their first victory against a full member cricketing nation for the men's team. The win was also all the more relishing in the manner in which USA triumphed.

It was a classic David vs Goliath encounter as USA with only 65 T20I caps among them slayed Ireland, boasting as many as 301 T20I caps before the start of the game. The game had enthralling ebbs and flows which witnessed USA being in tatters early on at 16/4 to resurrect themselves to finish with 188 and eventually posting an imposing 26-run win.

Barry McCarthy gave USA early jitters

USA opted to bat first on a seemingly placid Fort Lauderdale wicket. Barry McCarthy, however, made full use of the new ball, swirling it around with pace. He edged off Monank off the second ball of the game with an away-swinger that rose slightly. He then found timber against an advancing Xavier Marshall in his second over and finished off his miserly three-over spell with the wicket off Ryan Scott hauling out in the deep on legside. USA lost a wicket in every over in the first four overs and looked all but buried at 26 for 4 at the end of the powerplay.

Sushant Modani and Gajanand Singh turned the tables on Ireland

Modani and Gajanand joined hands at 16 for 4. Gajanand looked in his element right from the onset of his innings, carving out an imperial square drive off his second delivery for a boundary. Not someone to play against his attacking nature, Gajanand understood the gravity of the situation and bid his time with Modani, a natural accumulator. The pair added the next 39 runs at a run a ball without a boundary. Gajanand started to cut loose in the 12th over with a slog sweep off Simi Singh that sailed over the rope. He then plundered 4 more sixes within the space of 3 overs and brought up his second T20I fifty on the way. Gajanand finally departed after a whirlwind 65 off 42. Marty Kain picked up from where Gajanand left off as the debutant southpaw blazed away with a 15-ball 39, wrapping up the innings by pounding 2 sixes and 2 fours in the final over. Sushant Modani notched up his first T20I half century on debut, a mature knock that showed Modani's all round prowess with the bat and an ability to switch gears at the time of need. After a lackluster start, USA launched a heavy assault in the second half of the innings with as many as 132 runs coming off the final 9.

How did Ireland go about the chase?

The game witnessed a tale of two contradicting batting power plays. Ireland bossed the powerplay, racking up 54 in the first 6 but also losing their best batters Andy Balbirnie and the big-hitting Paul Stirling in the process. Ali Khan had a heaving Balbirnie caught on the square leg in the second over of the innings, but Stirling looked ominous. Stirling got stuck into the left arm spin of Marty Kain, flaying him for 3 boundaries in the 3rd over. Riding the momentum, he tonked Saurabh Netravalkar for two boundaries within 4 deliveries but the latter had the last laugh as Stirling got castled off the 5th delivery.

Ireland struggled to stay afloat of the ask after the powerplay. The introduction of the wily Nisarg Patel put a choke on the Irish, who lacked the street smarts to counter quality spin at a brisk rate. He had the dangerous looking Campher stumped just before the halfway mark of the innings with Ireland needing 114 off the final 10 on a placid wicket

Disciplined bowling and a captaincy gambit that paid off...

Along with Nisarg, senior paceman Netravalkar and Ali Khan kept the proceedings in check and never allowed Ireland in with a sniff. Captain Monank Patel introduced Netravalkar in the 13th over which paid immediate dividends as Netravalkar sent back a rampaging Shane Getkate. He finished off the spells of Nisarg and Netravalkar before the final 5 overs and held back the teenage debutant legspinner Yasir Mohammad's final 3 overs for the death. It was a gambit that paid off in the end as Netravalkar and Nisarg absorbed the pressure right after the halfway stage and produced wickets to thwart the run rate. This left Ireland with too much to do in the end as Mohammad was introduced with an RRR of 14.4 per over. Mohammad regardless put in a fine show at the death going for a solitary six and conceding just 23 in his final 3 after being carted for 12 in his first over during the powerplay.

The stepping up of the senior pros, inspiring bowling changes and a timely gambit kept Ireland at bay to give USA a comfortable victory in the end. USA play Ireland again for the final game of the series on December 23 which will be played under lights.

Brief scores: United States188/6 in 20 overs (Sushant Modani 50, Gajanand Singh 65, Marty Kain 39*; Barry McCarthy 4-30)beat Ireland 162/6 in 20 overs (Paul Stirling 31, Lorcan Tucker 57*; Saurabh Netravalkar 2-26, Ali Khan 2-30, Nisarg Patel 2-27)by 26 runs.