The Indian management have spent the last few days in the Ireland series explaining why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi did not need to be rushed. The argument was sensible enough. Why drop Sanju Samson, the man who played the biggest role in India’s T20 World Cup 2026 triumph?
Why bench Abhishek Sharma, currently the No. 1 ranked T20I batter in the world? Why change a batting unit packed with international experience to squeeze in a 15-year-old prodigy?
Now, after what happened in the first five minutes of the second T20I, the argument lay square of keeping Sooryavanshi aside. Jai Moondra, an Indian-born left-arm seamer making only his second international appearance, ripped through India’s top order and exposed that the Indian batting lineup is unprepared for the conditions. While Sooryavanshi watched from the dugout, India’s established stars handed Ireland the perfect start.
Samson, Abhishek and Iyer gift Ireland early control
Once again, Sanju Samson continues to see highs and lows. He was the Player of the Tournament at the World Cup. Now, he has ended up making just five runs in two T20Is against Ireland. On both occasions, he has been undone by the left-arm pacer. Moondra’s first ball tailed back in and trapped him in front. There was movement, yes, but it was hardly unplayable. You’d expect a left-arm pacer to bring one back in with the new ball. Samson planted his front foot, played around the line and departed for a golden duck.
Three balls later, Abhishek Sharma followed him back in the pavilion. Ireland’s plan was obvious. Hit the deck hard and let the extra bounce do the work. Abhishek attempted to take on the short ball on ball one, but the bounce surprised him. The result was a top edge that went miles into the Belfast sky before Matthew Hollard completed an outstanding catch.
In a matter of minutes, India were 1/2, with this being just the second instance in T20I history where both openers went for a golden duck. Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar were the first among full-member nations to achieve the unwanted feat against the West Indies in 2018. Then, Iyer was out as well.
Shreyas Iyer struck two boundaries and looked positive, but his dismissal came in an untimely manner. Moondra kept angling the ball across him, and instead of getting fully forward or back, Iyer remained rooted inside the crease. It led to his inside edge onto the stumps. Against seam movement, his footwork simply wasn’t there. It is a pattern that we have seen for quite some time now. Iyer looked flabbergasted. But replays showed how glued he was to his crease, which ultimately led to his dismissal.
Most ducks for India in T20Is
| Player | Inns | Ducks |
|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma | 151 | 12 |
| Sanju Samson* | 56 | 8 |
| Abhishek Sharma* | 47 | 7 |
| Virat Kohli | 117 | 7 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 107 | 7 |
An Indian-born hurts India
We have seen this script before. A left-arm pacer creating menace against India’s top-order batting. We have also seen an Indian-born pacer wrecking havoc when Saurabh Netravalkar dismissed both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the T20 World Cup 2024.
Moondra was born in Tonk, Rajasthan. He played age-group cricket in India before moving to Ireland for higher studies. He completed an MTech degree, worked as a software engineer at Intel and built his cricket career through Dublin’s club circuit before qualifying for Ireland.
After he made his international debut against Ireland two days ago, his family in Rajasthan were letting out tears of joy. They even burst crackers to celebrate.
In two matches against the reigning world champions, Moondra has removed Samson twice and has now added Abhishek Sharma and Shreyas Iyer to his collection. It’s an emotional story. Something similar to what we saw in a Bollywood movie – Patiala House.
