It's not often that two overs in a match can be identified as the difference between winning and losing but the 19th and 20th  of India’s innings all but settled the second T20 international at Malahide yesterday.

With Ireland looking at a very gettable 160, even 170 after a fine bowling performance against the tourist’s Indian Premier League stars, Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube crashed 42 from the last two overs to set the hosts a victory target of 186.

It didn’t help that Ireland, for the second game in a row, lost three wickets in the powerplay but the momentum was with India and this time there were no late heroics from the tail as Jasprit Bumrah, back to full fitness – and form - showed his class to send the Malahide stands, filled with Indian supporters, into a victory roar.

“I was really pleased with how the first 18 overs went,” said Paul Stirling, Ireland’s interim captain at the post-match press conference. “We bowled in the right area and adapted really well to what was in front of us.

“To not let an Indian side get away from us, especially after (Sanju) Samson had done so well in overs 10-12 (he took 18 off Josh Little’s comeback over). But 180 is still not a bad score at Malahide to chase down.

“But we struggled at the start with the bat, it’s hard to put a finger on why but we are playing a pretty good bowling attack and losing too many wickets, but that’s what we will work on, before the World Cup. This is just the first stage and from a batting unit point of view in the last 6-12 months we couldn’t be happier with how the lads have gone.”

It was Andrew Balbirnie’s turn to be the big hitter, and best batter, yesterday hitting five fours and four sixes in his 72 and although wickets were falling around him, while he was there Ireland were up with India’s comparative score.

However, after the former captain had thumped Arshdeep Singh over the fence at mid-wicket, he was caught behind next ball and Ireland’s hopes of a big finish went with him.

Malahide is not a favourite venue for Stirling or Lorcan Tucker and their average on the ground went even lower after both were out for ducks, in Prasidh Krishna’s first over – Stirling skying to fine leg and Tucker caught at mid-wicket, the first time he has been dismissed in successive innings without scoring.

Harry Tector has had many memorable innings here but he was bowled by Ravi Bishnoi’s googly and and the leg spinner also had Curtis Campher caught from a reverse sweep.

George Dockrell’s run-out, sent back by Balbirnie who was trying to keep the strike at the end of the over, didn’t help Ireland’s cause and after another Mark Adair cameo, which included back to back sixes off Krishna, the game was up.

Ireland have gone into this series with a five-man bowling attack – “a completely different balance to what we have done before in T20 cricket and it’s quite exciting”, said Stirling.

Craig Young continues to make an early breakthrough when called on – the exciting Yashasvi Jaiswal superbly caught by Campher on the mid-wicket boundary – and was the pick of the bowlers but Josh Little’s first three overs went for 44 and Adair, McCarthy and Ben White’s last cost a total of 57 runs.

The final game of the series is on Wednesday.