Ireland seal historic T20I series win against Shreyas Iyer's India
What's the story
Ireland overcame India by one run in the second T20I, winning their first-ever bilateral series against the Asian giants. The match was played in Belfast. The victory ended India's unbeaten run of 16 consecutive T20I series wins since 2023. This is a historic moment for Irish cricket as they have shown remarkable resilience to defend totals in both matches despite missing five first-choice players. Ireland scored 154/8 in 20 overs. In response, India got to 153/9 to lose by one run.
Match highlights
Jai Moondra and Matthew Hollard shine with the ball
Jai Moondra and Matthew Hollard were the stars with the ball for Ireland, each picking three wickets. The Indian middle order struggled under pressure, despite Tilak Varma's valiant effort of 55 runs. India's chase got off to a disastrous start as Moondra dismissed openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for first-ball ducks. Captain Shreyas Iyer also fell cheaply, leaving India in deep trouble at 39/4 after losing four wickets inside the Powerplay.
Match recap
Varma's valiant effort goes in vain
Despite the early setbacks, Varma held his ground and formed a 32-run partnership with Axar Patel. However, Hollard ended their stand when Axar was caught by a brilliant diving catch from Lorcan Tucker. Shivam Dube tried to inject some life into the innings but fell to Matthew Humphreys. Varma reached his half-century off 45 balls but soon after, he was dismissed. Harshit Rana slammed a few boundaries but was eventually caught at long-on by Tector. Prince Yadav hit a last-ball six but it wasn't enough.
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Summary of Ireland bowlers
Moondra bowled 4 overs and claimed 3/32. Matthew Humphreys claimed 1/28 from 4 overs. Hollard managed 3/26 from his 4 overs. Liam McCarthy was economical. He managed 0/22 from 4 overs. Tector picked 1/40 from 4 overs.
Ireland
A solid effort from Harry Tector helps Ireland score 154/8
Ireland were 17/1 when Herry Tector walked in and soon the home side was reduced to 21/2. Alongside Lorcan Tucker, Tector added 27 runs for the 3rd wicket. He then put on 65 runs alongside Benjamin Calitz and another 31-run stand with George Dockrell. It was a solid effort from the experienced batter who was finally dismissed in the 20th over by Prince.
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How did India's bowlers fare?
Arshdeep Singh picked 2/35 from 4 overs. Rana bowled 3 overs and clocked 1/17. Prince was superb and claimed 3/22 from 4 overs. Dube managed 2/25 from 3 overs. Suryansh Shedge managed 0/25 from 2 overs. Axar bowled 4 overs and managed 0/28.
Harry
2nd fifty versus India in T20Is for Tector
Tector's knock had one six and five fours. With this effort, he raced to 1,898 runs from 100 matches (92 innings) at 24.97. He slammed his 9th fifty. Earlier, he became the 6th Ireland player with 100-plus appearances in the 20-over format in internationals. As per ESPNcricinfo, in 7 matches versus India, he owns 176 runs at 29.33. He clocked his 2nd fifty.
Prince
5th-best figures on T20I debut by an Indian seamer
As per Cricbuzz, Prince (3/22) recorded the 5th-best figures on T20I debut by an Indian seamer. Best figures on T20I debut for an Indian seamer 4/10 Barinder Sran vs ZIM Harare 2016 4/22 Shivam Mavi vs SL Wankhede 2023 3/9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs PAK Bengaluru 2012 3/17 Navdeep Saini vs WI Lauderhill 2019 3/22 Prince Yadav vs IRE Belfast 2026*
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Career-best figures for Prince in T20s
In 36 T20 games, Prince raced to a tally of 41 wickets at an average of 28-plus, as per ESPNcricinfo. He also recorded his career-best figures. Prince had an excellent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, picking 16 wickets for Lucknow Super Giants.
Samson
8th duck for Samson in T20Is; 27th overall in T20s
Samson was out first ball, being trapped lbw. Samson now owns 8 ducks for India in the 20-over format. It's now the 2nd-most by an Indian batter after Rohit Sharma's 12. In 64 matches (56 innings), he has 1,404 runs at 27.52. Meanwhile, the experienced Samson also recorded his 27th duck overall in T20s. As per ESPNcricinfo, playing his 346th match (329 innings), Samson has 8,882 runs (50s: 55, 100s: 8).
Abhishek
Abhishek equals Kohli and Suryakumar in terms of T20I ducks
Abhishek also perished for a golden duck, being caught. Abhishek now owns 7 ducks for India in T20Is. In 48 games, he has 1,487 runs at 33.04 (100s: 2, 50s: 10). Abhishek equaled Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav in terms of ducks for India (7 each). Overall in the 20-over format, Abhishek has posted 17 ducks from 198 matches. He owns 5,853 runs with nine tons and 36 fifties.
Do you know?
6th T20I duck for Abhishek in 2026
As many as 6 of his 7 T20I ducks have come in calendar year 2026. From 15 games, Abhishek owns 372 runs at 26.57. Overall in the 20-over format, Abhishek has recorded 9 ducks in 2026 calendar year. He owns 935 runs from 30 matches.
Varma
Varma slams his 7th fifty in T20Is
Varma scored 55 off 46 balls. He slammed 3 fours and a six. He now owns 1,464 runs from 51 games (48 innings), averaging 44.36. He clocked his 7th fifty (100s: 2). As per Cricbuzz, Varma recorded the 5th-slowest fifty for India in terms of balls faced (45).
Records
Key records made as India lose
Iyer became the second Indian captain in T20Is to lose each of their first two matches in charge after Rishabh Pant. As per Cricbuzz, India's run of 16 consecutive T20I series unbeaten came to an end. Among Full Member teams, the previous longest was 11 by Pakistan bw 2016 and 2018. India clocked their 3rd one-run defeat in T20Is. Meanwhile, Ireland posted their 3rd one-run win in T20Is.