Ireland stun T20 World Cup champions India in Belfast shock

They had reduced the hosts to 51/4 in 7.1 overs before conceding 114 runs in the last 10 overs. But given India’s batting might, this should have been a total they should have overhauled with ease if one factors in that this was an Ireland team that was missing several of their first-choice players.

Abhishek Sharma in action. (Deepak Malik / CREIMAS for BCCI)

Josh Little, Mark Adair, Curtis Campfer, and Barry McCarthy are all missing the two T20S with injuries and at a time when all their focus is on the 50-over World Cup qualifiers, these two matches against India have come when they were least prepared. The second-string bowling attack, though, proved too hot to handle.

At the toss, captain Shreyas revealed Sooryavanshi has to wait for his turn as they weren’t going to disturb the top three who delivered them the second successive T20 World Cups. A fair call, but such is the hype around Sooryavanshi that it looked controversial when, on any other day, dropping one of Abhishek, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan would have invited criticism.

The slide started in the second over when Samson inside-edged debutant Moondra on to the stumps off his first delivery. Born in Rajasthan’s Tonk, the hometown of Indian seamer Khaleel Ahmed, he moved to Ireland only in 2021 to pursue a master’s degree in electronics and communication. Having caught the attention because of his pace in Dublin club cricket, he received a call-up for this series and, apart from Samson, pulled off a sensational caught and bowled catch to dismiss Shivam Dube when the left-hander was threatening with his massive blows. In between Moondra’s strikes, it was fellow debutant Hollard who hogged the limelight. The seamer struck off his second delivery, courtesy of a leading edge from Ishan. The wickets of Shreyas and Washington dealt India further blows, even as Abhishek fought a lone losing battle.

68/4 to 182/9

It was a story of two halves with the ball for India. They stuck to their plans in the first 10 overs on a pitch that had a bit of green tinge that would have aided movement; they preferred to bowl short, inviting the Ireland top-order to take them on. The plan was simple: Make them play shots that they weren’t going to be in control of.

And it was the returning Harshit Rana – who missed the T20 World Cup with an injury – who provided the first breakthrough. For a pacer who has worked his way from a long injury lay-off that saw him even miss the IPL, he appeared still some distance away from peak fitness. But the pace and the bounce haven’t gone anywhere. In his first over, he made Ross Adair top-edge one to Sanju Samson, who retained the keeping gloves. And in the next over, Arshdeep Singh’s seam movement – again largely sticking to his strength meant Harry Tector nicked it to Samson. Rana then saw Tim, Tector’s brother, removed in his second over, with another short delivery. With Shivam Dube taking out Ben Calitz on the first delivery of his spell – courtesy another short ball, Ireland never found any sort of momentum as they had just 68 at the end of 10 overs.

Matthew Humphreys runout. (Deepak Malik / CREIMAS for BCCI)

The partnership that Ireland desperately sought arrived thanks to captain Lorcan Tucker (50) and Gareth Delany (49), with Abhishek and Washington Sundar helping by dropping a catch each. And in Prasidh Krishna, Ireland found a pacer who was wayward and could be taken apart. Playing his first T20I since 2023, the pacer’s economy was once again on the higher side. He started the day with a 15-run over and ended it with a 27-run over as his predictable lines and lengths were feasted on by the Irish batsmen. With Axar and Washington too failing to provide control, Ireland, from a spot of bother, ended up having a total that could be a slippery slope for India.

Brief Scores: Ireland 182/9 in 20 overs (Lorcan Tucker 50, Gareth Delaney 49; Harshit Rana 3/24) beat India 148 all out in 18.5 overs (Abhishek Sharma 50; Matthew Holland 3/28, Matthew Humphreys 3/38) by 34 runs.