When the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee named India’s squad for the Ireland series, some critics complained that it announced too good of a team. Apart from Suryakumar Yadav’s sacking, the team had nine first-choice players that were part of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 win. Those who came were already stars as well. Talk about Shreyas Iyer, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi or the 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
India eyed this series as the first chapter of Iyer’s storyline, who has become India’s 15th T20I skipper. With the road to the T20 World Cup 2028 and LA Olympics ahead, India and Iyer have started the chapter on the worst possible note. In what was supposed to be a cakewalk series, an injury-ridden Ireland side have stunned India with a magnificent 34-run win in Belfast. India, the three-time and current world T20 champions, were ordinary, to say the least.
Complete batting failure ft. Tilak Varma, Shreyas Iyer
If the bowling group led by Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh won India the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, it was their mighty batting that did wonders earlier this year. So when Ireland put 182 on the board, the question was in how many overs will India chase this down and not if they will.
That’s exactly what makes this historic loss. India’s batting ran deep, with Harshit Rana slated to bat at nine. Ireland already had problems, with them being forced to hand debuts to two bowlers. Guess what they did? Jai Moondra, a Rajasthan-born pacer, did magic on the first ball, sending Sanju Samson back with disciplined bowling. The other debutant, Matthew Hollard, was incredible. In fact, he took his maiden international scalp off his second ball and eventually grabbed the Player of the Match award for his superb spell of 3/28.
The batting was a complete failure for India. Barring Abhishek Sharma, none of them adapted to the conditions. Ishan Kishan went for a wild hoick without taking the bounce into account. Shreyas Iyer didn’t time his stroke and was caught on the boundary.
However, the biggest culprit was Tilak Varma. The newly appointed vice-captain came after a special performance in a one-off TG20 game. But before that, he played five innings in the 50-over tri-nation series for India A. There, he made runs, but his strike rate was in huge question. He operated at a SR of below 75. That was highly awful. Similarly, in this game, he got stuck again.
His spin-playing game has been questionable for a long time. Once again, he didn’t have anything to work in his favour. Against Ireland spinners, his strike rate was less than a run-a-ball. He tried to manufacture something creative, going for a reverse sweep against left-arm spinner Humphreys. But handed a simple catch. Similarly, Axar Patel was lacklustre as well, like he was with the bat for Delhi Capitals at IPL 2026 too.
Ireland vs India (Men + Women T20Is Before This Win)
| Category | Matches | Ireland Wins | India Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men’s T20Is | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Women’s T20Is | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Total | 29 | 0 | 29 |
India’s First Match After Winning a Men’s T20 World Cup
| T20 World Cup Triumph | Next Match | Result | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 T20 World Cup | vs Zimbabwe | Lost | Shubman Gill |
| 2026 T20 World Cup | vs Ireland | Lost | Shreyas Iyer |
Indian fielders and bowlers let fans down
India will look at the scorecard and know exactly where this game slipped away. At 51/4 after 7.1 overs, Ireland were wobbling badly. Harshit Rana had ripped through the top order, Arshdeep Singh was asking questions with the new ball, and India seemed in control. What followed, however, was a combination of sloppy fielding and poor execution with the ball.
The first warning sign came in the field. Tim Tector was handed a life early when Shivam Dube failed to hold onto a chance at long-on, with the ball eventually trickling away for four. Dube continued his horrible fielding that he showed in the IPL for CSK. Later, Gareth Delany was gifted another opportunity when Abhishek Sharma grassed an easy catch at long-off. Lorcan Tucker, Ireland’s captain and eventual match-winner, also survived when Washington Sundar could only get fingertips to a powerful hit at long-on. Three chances, three reprieves, and Ireland made India pay.
Safe to say, the Indian team’s fielding woes continued on the field. Whether it’s the men’s team or the women’s, who will play virtual quarterfinal against Australia at the Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday.
Prasidh Krishna leaves a lot to be desired
Cricket
Shreyas Iyer-Kishan failure, Tilak & Prasidh's horror show headline India's historic loss to Ireland
