India, the reigning T20 World Cup champion, played with a new captain and a new-look squad, and lost badly by 34 runs to Ireland in the first T20I of the two-match series at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast on Friday.
After eight straight victories in the shortest format, this is India’s first loss against Ireland.
Matthew Humphreys and Matthew Hollard each claimed three wickets in a disciplined bowling effort that helped Ireland bowl India out for 148 runs in 18. 5 overs, sealing a historic victory and putting a bad start to Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy.
India got off to a quick start against the Irish bowlers in pursuit of a demanding goal of 183 runs, with Abhishek Sharma leading the charge. India ran to 16 without loss in the opening over as the left-hander hit a boundary and a six.
Jai Moondra created a fantastic delivery to wipe up Sanju Samson and give the hosts an early breakthrough, and Ireland answered immediately.
India’s pursuit was kept on track by Abhishek, who maintained his aggressive style and blasted four boundaries off Liam McCarthy in one over. India, however, experienced yet another setback when Matthew Hollard bowled Ishan Kishan out for four runs after he misjudged a flick.
India’s new T20I captain Shreyas Iyer failed to make an impact, scoring only three runs off seven balls before departing, leaving India under duress despite Abhishek’s counterattack. As a result, the wickets kept falling.
After six overs, India was 68/3 thanks to a few lovely strokes from Tilak Varma, who hit two boundaries in the last over of the Power-play.
Abhishek reached a stunning half-century in just 19 balls, but Ireland struck at the perfect moment, dismissing the opener for 50 off only 20 pitches. India was 85/4 after his entertaining knock, which included seven fours and two sixes.
India’s chase was further damaged by Matthew Hollard, who got rid of Washington Sundar for nine, while Tilak’s promising innings came to an end soon after he was dismissed for 19 off 21 balls.
Shivam Dube maintained India’s hopes with an aggressive cameo, hitting two sixes and a boundary in his 16-ball, 25-run performance. Axar Patel struggled to pick up speed at the other end and scored just 15 from 16 balls before being caught at long-on.
India’s hopes for a comeback were effectively dashed when Jai Moondra caught Dube’s resistance in a superb return catch off of his own bowling.
Matthew Humphreys finished the innings by removing Arshdeep Singh in the 19th over, while Harshit Rana smacked two boundaries late in the innings but was out for eight.
Jai Moondra took two wickets for Ireland, while Matthew Hollard and Matthew Humphreys both took three. Ireland achieved a memorable victory to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series thanks to Liam McCarthy and Gareth Delany each taking one wicket.
Prior to Harshit Rana striking twice in rapid succession, Ireland began aggressively through Tim Tector and Ross Adair after being put in to bat earlier after losing the toss. Harry Tector also fell early to Arshdeep Singh, while Adair left for 12 off seven deliveries after edging behind.
With a clever slower delivery, Rana then bowled out Tim Tector for 17, leaving Ireland at 32/3. At the conclusion of the power play, the hosts were at 36/3.
Ireland was in deeper trouble after Shivam Dube took Benjamin Calitz for 15 runs, who briefly counterattacked with two sixes. Nonetheless, Delany and Tucker put together a key partnership, combining timely boundaries with astute strike rotation to reconstruct the innings.
After settling in, Tucker picked up the pace and anchored the innings. He hit 16 runs off an Axar Patel over before scoring his half-century in 35 balls.
Despite Harshit ending Tucker’s brilliant 50-ball innings, Ireland remained offensive. George Dockrell hit 19 runs off Washington Sundar’s over right away, then scored quickly with Delany. The couple punished Prasidh Krishna, collecting 27 runs from the 17th over to push Ireland towards a strong finish.
Dockrell was bowled for a rapid 19 by Axar Patel, and Delany was caught off Arshdeep Singh in the penultimate over, scoring 49 runs off 31 deliveries with three fours and three sixes. Even with two additional wickets falling in the final over, Ireland still managed a respectable 182/9 total.
Harshit Rana took three wickets for 24 runs, while Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh each picked up two wickets. Ireland’s middle-order recovery and strong conclusion helped them reach a difficult total despite India’s excellent start with the ball.
Brief scores:
Ireland 182/9 in 20 overs (Locran Tucker 50, Gerath Delany 49, George Dockrell 19; Harshit Rana 3-24, Arshdeep Singh 2-28, Axar Patel 2-33)
India 148 all out in 18.5 overs (Abhishek Sharma 50, Shivam Dube 25; Matthew Humphreys 3-38, Matthew Hollard 3-28)