Belfast: Ireland created history on Friday by registering their first-ever T20 International victory over India, stunning the visitors by 34 runs at Stormont to take a memorable lead in the series and spoil Shreyas Iyer’s debut as India’s T20I captain.
Chasing a competitive target of 183, India endured a dramatic batting collapse and were bundled out for 148, handing Ireland a famous win after eight previous unsuccessful attempts against the Men in Blue in the shortest format.
The chase unravelled quickly for India as the top order failed to cope with disciplined Irish bowling. At one stage, India had slumped to 100 for six after losing Sanju Samson (5), Tilak Varma (19), skipper Shreyas Iyer (3), Abhishek Sharma (50), Ishan Kishan (1) and Washington Sundar (9).
Abhishek was the lone bright spark in an otherwise disappointing batting display, striking a fluent half-century to briefly keep India’s hopes alive. However, once he departed, Ireland tightened the screws.
Shivam Dube contributed a fighting 25, but India continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. The visitors slipped from 100 for six to 137 for eight before the tail folded without much resistance. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana were the last wickets to fall as India suffered one of their most surprising defeats in recent times.
Earlier, India’s pace attack had produced an impressive performance to restrict Ireland to 182 for nine after the hosts opted to bat.
The Indian fast bowlers cleverly abandoned the conventional approach of pitching the ball up in overcast conditions and instead relied on hard lengths and sharp bounce to trouble the Irish batters throughout the innings.
Harshit Rana, returning after a four-month injury lay-off, made an immediate impact with an impressive spell of 3 for 24. Arshdeep Singh chipped in with two wickets, while Shivam Dube also claimed an important breakthrough.
Ireland were rocked early as Tim Tector, Harry Tector and Ross Adair all departed inside the powerplay, reducing the hosts to 30 for three. They managed only 36 runs in the first six overs as India’s seamers maintained relentless pressure.
Tim Tector and Ross Adair fell attempting aggressive pull shots, offering catches to Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson respectively off Harshit Rana. Harry Tector became Arshdeep Singh’s victim after edging a fuller delivery behind to Samson.
When Shivam Dube dismissed Ben Calitz, Ireland found themselves struggling at 51 for four and staring at a below-par total.
However, captain Lorcan Tucker steadied the innings with a responsible knock of 50 off 36 balls. He stitched together a valuable 64-run partnership for the fifth wicket to rescue Ireland from a precarious position and provide the hosts with a competitive total.
Although India’s bowlers had done enough to keep the target within reach, the batting unit failed to deliver, leaving the visitors with plenty to ponder ahead of the next match.
One talking point before the game was the absence of teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from the playing XI. Despite considerable anticipation surrounding his potential international debut, the youngster was left out, much to the disappointment of the packed crowd at Stormont and cricket fans eager to witness the highly-rated prospect in Indian colours.
For Ireland, however, it was a night to savour. After years of near misses against one of world cricket’s powerhouses, the hosts finally crossed the finish line to record a landmark victory that will be remembered as one of the finest moments in Irish cricket.
