Belfast, June 26 (IANS) Reigning T20 World Cup-winner India, playing under a new captain and new-look team, suffered an embarrassing 34-run defeat to Ireland in the opening T20I of the two-match series at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast on Friday. This is India’s first-ever defeat to Ireland after surging to eight consecutive wins in the shortest format.

Shreyas Iyer made a disappointing start to his captaincy as Matthew Hollard and Matthew Humphreys claimed three wickets apiece in a disciplined bowling display to help Ireland bowl India out for 148 in 18.5 overs, sealing a historic victory.

Chasing a challenging target of 183, India made a brisk start with Abhishek Sharma taking the attack to the Irish bowlers. The left-hander struck a six and a boundary in the opening over as India raced to 16 without loss.

Ireland responded immediately as Jai Moondra produced a superb delivery to clean up Sanju Samson and hand the hosts an early breakthrough.

Abhishek continued his aggressive approach, smashing Liam McCarthy for four boundaries in an over to keep India’s chase on track. However, India suffered another setback when Ishan Kishan mistimed a flick off Matthew Hollard and was dismissed after scoring four.

The wickets continued to fall as new T20I captain Shreyas Iyer failed to make an impact, managing just three runs from seven deliveries before departing, leaving India under pressure despite Abhishek’s counterattack.

Tilak Varma played a few attractive strokes, including two boundaries in the final over of the Power-play, helping India reach 68/3 after six overs.

Abhishek then brought up a breathtaking half-century in just 19 balls, but Ireland struck at the perfect time as the opener was dismissed for 50 off only 20 deliveries. His entertaining knock featured seven fours and two sixes and left India at 85/4.

Tilak’s promising innings ended soon after as he fell for 19 off 21 balls, while Matthew Hollard further dented India’s chase by dismissing Washington Sundar for nine.

Shivam Dube briefly kept India’s hopes alive with an attacking cameo, smashing two sixes and a boundary during his 25-run knock off 16 balls. At the other end, Axar Patel struggled to accelerate and managed only 15 from 16 deliveries before holing out to long-on.

Dube’s resistance ended when Jai Moondra completed an excellent return catch off his own bowling, effectively ending India’s hopes of a comeback.

Harshit Rana struck a couple of boundaries late in the innings but was dismissed for eight, while Matthew Humphreys wrapped up the innings by removing Arshdeep Singh in the 19th over.

Matthew Hollard (3 wickets) and Matthew Humphreys (3 wickets) starred with the ball for Ireland, while Jai Moondra finished with two wickets. Liam McCarthy and Gareth Delany claimed one wicket each as Ireland completed a memorable victory to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Earlier, coming to bat after losing the toss, Ireland started aggressively through Tim Tector and Ross Adair before Harshit Rana struck twice in quick succession. Adair departed for 12 off seven balls after edging behind, while Harry Tector also fell early to Arshdeep Singh. Rana then dismissed Tim Tector for 17 with a clever slower delivery, reducing Ireland to 32/3. The hosts reached 36/3 at the end of the power play.

Benjamin Calitz briefly counterattacked with two sixes before Shivam Dube removed him for 15, leaving Ireland in further trouble. However, Tucker and Delany rebuilt the innings with a crucial partnership, mixing sensible strike rotation with timely boundaries. Tucker anchored the innings and accelerated after settling in, taking 16 runs off an Axar Patel over before bringing up his fifty in 35 balls.

Harshit returned to end Tucker’s impressive knock of 50 from 36 deliveries, but Ireland continued to attack. George Dockrell made an immediate impact, smashing 19 runs off Washington Sundar’s over before adding quick runs alongside Delany. The pair punished Prasidh Krishna, collecting 27 runs from the 17th over to push Ireland towards a strong finish.

Axar Patel dismissed Dockrell for a brisk 19, while Delany fell agonisingly short of a half-century, scoring 49 off 31 balls with three fours and three sixes before being caught off Arshdeep Singh in the penultimate over. Ireland lost two more wickets in the final over but still finished with an imposing 182/9.

Harshit Rana starred with the ball for India, claiming 3/24, while Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel picked up two wickets each. Despite India’s impressive start with the ball, Ireland’s middle-order recovery and powerful finish ensured they posted a challenging total.

Brief scores:

Ireland 182/9 in 20 overs (Locran Tucker 50, Gerath Delany 49, George Dockrell 19; Harshit Rana 3-24, Arshdeep Singh 2-28, Axar Patel 2-33) beat India 148 all out in 18.5 overs (Abhishek Sharma 50, Shivam Dube 25; Matthew Humphreys 3-38, Matthew Hollard 3-28) by 34 runs.

–IANS

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