India’s men’s cricket team’s historic defeat to Ireland was courtesy of an Indian. Jai Moondra was the wrecker-in-chief for Ireland’s maiden series victory over India. Prior to the 2-0 outcome in Belfast, the Green and Whites had only defeated two other full-member nations – Zimbabwe and Afghanistan – in a T20I series.
Leaving cricket & India behind
Safe to say, this is Ireland’s greatest-ever series victory. Returning to Moondra, the left-arm fast bowler hails from Rajasthan and even served as a net bowler for domestic teams. However, the 29-year-old failed to break through and decided to leave cricket behind and move to Ireland in 2021 to pursue a master’s degree in electronics and communication.
However, cricket wasn’t ready to leave him. Soon after, Moondra started playing for Leinster Cricket Club in Dublin. He even served as a net bowler for Ireland the last time India toured in 2023. He got a few tips from Jasprit Bumrah and VVS Laxman, who was serving as the interim head coach, and remembered Moondra from before.
However, he kept balancing cricket with a regular job. It was only in July 2025 that Moondra, working for Intel, left his job for cricket. In less than a year, he’s the reason for Ireland’s historic victory. For the unaware, the 29-year-old made his international debut on June 26.
Stunned Shreyas Iyer & Sanju Samson
He returned with the figures of 25/2, which included the wickets of Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube. However, prior to the match, Moondra wasn’t preparing for them. Instead, his attention was on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The teenager was expected to make his debut, but the Indian management held that back.
“His main plan was against Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Vaibhav eventually didn’t play, but Moondra had prepared so thoroughly that the hard work still paid off. He dismissed Sanju Samson twice and also took the wickets of Abhishek Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube. The boy has put in a lot of effort, and these results are simply the reward for that hard work,” Mohan Singh told the Times of India.
Sooryavanshi‘s omission didn’t hold Moondra back. In the second game, he one-upped himself, sending Samson and Abhishek Sharma back for golden ducks before dismissing India’s new captain, Shreyas Iyer. He finished the match in the powerplay and was rightly named player of the match and player of the series for picking up 5 wickets in 8 overs.
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