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Gritty and determined Ireland produced a superb all- round show to shock T20 World Champions India by 34 runs in the first match of the two- match T20I series in Belfast . It was Ireland’s first ever win against India . This after India’s new T20I captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Ireland got off off to a shaky start losing opener Ross Adair early for 12 with total 20/1 in 1.5 overs. Fellow opener Tim Tector was out for 17. Harry Tector 0. Skipper Lorcan Tucker put Ireland back in control after early wickets by scoring a fine 50 ( 36 balls , 5 fours 2 sixes). Benjamin Calitz 15 . Gareth Delany blasted a useful knock 49 ( 32 ( balls 3, fours 3 sixes) , George Dockrell 19 , Liam McCarthy 7 , Matthew Humphreys run-out 2 , Jai Moondra not out 2 as Ireland battled hard to reach somewhat defendable 182/9 in their 20 overs. Against a strong Indian batting unit . Will it be enough/ . Time would tell .
India Bowling : Arshdeep Singh 2/28 ( 4 overs), back after injury Harshit Rana bagged 3/24 ( 4 overs), Prasidh Krishna 0/57 ( 4 overs), Shivam Dube 1/18 ( 3 overs) , Axar Patel 2/32 ( 4 overs) . Washington Sundar 0/19 ( 1 over)
In reply, The Indian fans who had come hoping to see he debut of young 15-year old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi were left disappointed as he was not picked in the playing XI . The Indian batting unit left all embarrased as they were bowled out for shocking 148 /10 in 18. 5 overs. Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy has begun on a poor note .
India lost Sanju Samson early for 5, Ishan Kishan for 1 and Skipper Shreyas Iyer for 3 . The woes continued with Tilak Varma falling for 19 and India reeling at 90-5, 10.2 overs.
The only bright spot for India was opener Abhishek Sharma who was the top- scorer with 50 ( 20 balls , 7 fours , 2 sixes).
Washington Sundar 9, Shivam Dube 25 , Axar Patel 15, Harshit Rana 8 , Arshdeep Singh 2, Prasidh Krishna not out 1 as Ireland romped home by 34 runs .
History in Belfast as Ireland script their first win over India across formats 👏
📝: https://t.co/6mBPoGJvwG pic.twitter.com/WWPiyfXtaY
— ICC (@ICC) June 26, 2026
Ireland were gritty on the field and regular wickets by their accurate bolwers and backed by energetic fielding dented India’s chase.
Ireland Bowling : Matthew Humphreys impressed with 3/38 ( 3.5 overs), Jai Moondra 2/26 ( 4 overs), Liam McCarthy 1/29 ( 3 overs), Matthew Hollard 3/28 ( 4 0vers) was other impressive bowler for the Irish, Harry Tector 0/22 ( 3 overs) , Gareth Delany 1/3 ( 1 over)
Match: 1st T20I
Venue: Belfast | Date: June 26, 2026
