Ireland stun India by one run to complete historic 2-0 T20I series sweep

Belfast: Ireland stepped up when it mattered the most to defeat India by just one run and complete a memorable 2-0 series sweep — their first-ever bilateral triumph over the Asian heavyweights. Vice-captain Tilak Varma’s fighting 55 kept India in the hunt, but debutant Jai Moondra’s early strikes and disciplined death bowling ensured the hosts […]

Belfast: Ireland stepped up when it mattered the most to defeat India by just one run and complete a memorable 2-0 series sweep — their first-ever bilateral triumph over the Asian heavyweights.

Vice-captain Tilak Varma’s fighting 55 kept India in the hunt, but debutant Jai Moondra’s early strikes and disciplined death bowling ensured the hosts defended 154/8 at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Stormont on Sunday.

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Harry Tector, playing his 100th T20I game, anchored the innings with a scratchy but vital 53, while the bowlers produced a superb team performance to keep India at bay. Moondra and Matthew Hollard picked up three wickets apiece.

The result ended India’s streak of 16 consecutive T20I series wins dating back to 2023 and also marked one of the greatest weekends in Irish cricket history. Under newly appointed T20I captain Lorcan Tucker, the side missed five first-choice players.

Ireland showed remarkable spirit to defend totals in both games and celebrate a famous triumph in front of a jubilant home crowd. For India, the series defeat was a sobering reminder of the challenges outside IPL-style batting decks and their continued struggles against left-arm pace. Despite Varma’s resistance, the middle order faltered under pressure, leaving the T20 World Cup champions humbled.

The chase began disastrously for India as Moondra dismissed openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for first-ball ducks. Just like in the first game, Samson fell for a duck after he missed a flick off Moondra’s skiddy delivery and was trapped lbw. On the fourth ball, Abhishek miscued a pull off Moondra’s short ball to third man.

India were rattled further as skipper Shreyas Iyer chopped onto his stumps off Moondra for 10. Ishan Kishan attempted to rebuild alongside Tilak Varma, but a mix-up resulted in his run-out for 12. At 39/4, India were in deep trouble, having lost four wickets inside the Powerplay for only the 13th time in T20Is. Varma, however, held his nerve.

He struck successive boundaries off Moondra through the leg side and steadied the innings with a 32-run stand with Axar Patel. Rain interruptions briefly halted play, but the duo ensured India stayed afloat even as the asking rate hovered above eight runs per over.

Once the game resumed, Hollard broke the partnership as Axar looked to steer him, but Lorcan Tucker completed a stunning one-handed catch diving to his left. Shivam Dube added some impetus with two fours before pulling to deep square leg off Matthew Humphreys.

Amid all this, Varma hung around and brought up his fifty in 45 balls by hitting India’s first six of the innings — crouching low to heave Hollard over deep mid-wicket. But on the very next ball, his attempt at a lofted drive resulted in a mistimed shot to extra cover. Debutant Suryansh Shedge also fell while attempting to clear the bigger side of the ground.

Rana, though, had other ideas — he slammed Moondra through point for four before muscling him over long-on for six. With 20 runs needed off the final over, Rana got a boundary off a free hit. Despite Tector bowling two wides, he had the last laugh by having Rana caught at long-on. Though Prince Yadav hit a last-ball six, it was not enough to stop Ireland from winning.

Earlier, Ireland were on course for a score around 180, especially with Tector and Ben Calitz (37) sharing a 65-run stand. However, losing wickets quickly at the end meant Ireland could only cross the 150-mark. For India, debutant Prince Yadav impressed by bowling hard lengths and mixing yorkers with slower deliveries to outsmart the Irish batters at the death.

Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube and Harshit Rana were among the wickets for India, while Axar Patel and second debutant Suryansh Shedge went wicketless. Put into bat first, Ireland started strongly, with Ross Adair smashing successive sixes off Arshdeep in the opening over. Rana struck in the second over to remove Tim Tector, before Arshdeep dismissed Adair for 16.

Ireland were further dented when Lorcan Tucker was caught behind off Prince as they reached 58/3 at the halfway stage. But Tector held the innings together with support from Calitz, as they found boundaries off Shedge and Axar. Their partnership threatened to take Ireland close to 180 before Dube removed Calitz and Gareth Delany in successive balls in the 15th over.

After a four-minute rain delay, George Dockrell’s cameo of 19 and Tector’s fighting fifty kept Ireland afloat. Prince’s clever variations saw him dismiss Tector and Liam McCarthy in the final over, capping a memorable outing in the T20I jersey.

However, Ireland prevailed to script one of the greatest chapters in their cricketing history.

Brief Scores: Ireland 154/8 in 20 overs (Harry Tector 53, Ben Calitz 37; Prince Yadav 3-22, Shivam Dube 2-25) beat India 153/9 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 55, Harshit Rana 21; Matthew Hollard 3-26, Jai Moondra 3-32) by one run.