Spirited Ireland condemn India to their first T20I series loss since 2023

Ireland once again stunned India in the second T20I, with a thrilling one-run victory on Sunday, June 28 at Civil Service Cricket Club, Belfast. After being put in to bat first, Ireland posted a 154/8 in their 20 overs with Harry Tector scoring a brilliant half-century, along with a crucial contribution from Benjamin Calitz (37 off 23).

For India, debutant Prince Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, taking a three-wicket haul, while Shivam Dube (2/25, 3 overs) and Arshdeep Singh (2/35) picked up two wickets each.

In reply, India once again faced a dramatic collapse, being restricted to 35/4 after 4.5 overs. Tilak Varma fought hard with his half-century, but his dismissal in the 18th over brought curtains on India's hopes.

Harshit Rana (21 off 10) tried his best to script a miracle, but his dismissal on the penultimate delivery sealed Ireland's historic win. India were eventually restricted to 153/9 in their 20 overs as Matthew Hollard (3/26) and Jai Moondra (3/32) scalped three wickets each.

As a result, Ireland completed a historic maiden series victory over India, who lost their first T20I rubber since August 2023, ending an unbeaten run of 16 series.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Jai Moondra was adjudged Player of the Match for running through India's top order. He got the big scalps of Sanju Samson (0 off 1), Abhishek Sharma (0 off 1) and Shreyas Iyer (10 off 7), finishing with figures of 3/32 in four overs. The left-arm seamer was also adjudged Player of the Series in Ireland's historic win, taking five wickets across two matches at an average of 11.40 and an economy of 7.12.

Turning Point

Ireland were in trouble once again, being at 48/3 after 7.3 overs. It took a 65-run stand off 43 balls between Harry Tector (53 off 47) and Benjamin Calitz (37 off 23) for the fourth wicket to bail their team out of trouble and help them get to a respectable score.

In the second innings, India were rocked inside the powerplay, being reduced to 35/4 in 4.5 overs. From there onwards, they were just playing catch-up cricket throughout the run chase and eventually fell short of their target.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Lorcan Tucker (Ireland): 

I can't quite believe it. I challenged the lads to show the world that was not a one off and yeah they responded. We came out with the same intent as the previous game. We showed that cricket can be simple and you don't need to complicate it. We have a lot of lads with very few caps but they showed great character. We are so lucky to have these games against India. It is a great time to be a professional cricket in Ireland.

Losing Captain, Shreyas Iyer (India):

Not a great series but kudos to them with the way they played. They had a tremendous idea how the wicket would play and the field work was phenomenonal. The bowlers were phenomenonal with their execution. They outplayed us in that department. He has got great experience in the IPL, he has his own set of ideas and plans when he comes on to bowl, Suryansh as well. It is an honour and a pleasure to be here.