5 min readJun 28, 2026 11:17 PM IST
First published on: Jun 28, 2026 at 11:17 PM IST
Having gone 16 consecutive series without losing, which included laying hands on two T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026, India’s proud run came to a grinding halt at Belfast against Ireland. If the defeat in the first T20I on Friday came as a shock, on Sunday Ireland held their nerve when Harshit Rana threatened a heist as they won by one run to take the series 2-0.
Prior to Friday, India hadn’t lost any match to Ireland. In three days they have lost two and a series. And it is another ignominious feat for head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has seen a few lows in his stint so far. Next up lies England on Wednesday and to recover the lost face, India may well have to turn to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
For the second outing in a row, the established India batting unit failed to chase a target that was within their reach. Troubling them again was Jai Moondra, the left-arm seamer who is waiting to know the fate of his visa. Employed with Intel, his time with the tech giants has ended and if he doesn’t find another employment opportunity, he may have to leave Ireland. The software engineer might have something else lined up. Having already made an impression on his debut on Friday, he went a step ahead on Sunday, running through India’s top-order to stun them. It was no mere luck. Ireland Cricket may as well tie him up with a central contract.
Sanju Samson was trapped in front by what is a dream delivery for left-arm seamers. It pitched on middle-and-off and shaped back in. For Abhishek Sharma, he kept it outside off and made it go away from him and the left-hander ended up having a swing at it and the top-edge was pouched wonderfully by Matt Hollard. He had overrun the ball, but still managed to hold on to it by diving backwards. And then came the wicket of Shreyas Iyer. The new T20I captain had two confident boundaries to show to his name in his brief stay, and as Moodra slanted one across, he went for an expansive drive, only to inside edge it to the stumps.
19/3 inside four overs, made the chase of 155 even more steep. Ishan Kishan departed soon after, courtesy a direct hit from Ross Adair to a non-existent single. Tilak Varma fought hard, labouring to 55 off 46, showing his intention to take the game deep with the hope that one of the others end up doing the heavy lifting. But Axar Patel and Shivam Dube couldn’t pull-off any heist.
Prince arrives
On Friday, India had let the game drift away from them with the ball. The luxury that the think-tank showed with the batsmen in terms of faith wasn’t shown to the attack as Prasidh Krishna, who leaked 57 in his four overs, was benched. So was Washington Sundar, who has appeared to be caught without a proper role clarity. Not used much with the ball, slotting him down the order hasn’t worked so far. So both made way for Suryansh Shedge and Prince Yadav, who have shown promise in recent times in the IPL and A series.
Between the two it was Prince who impressed straightaway. Like in the first T20I, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana played their part, making early inroads, taking two wickets in the powerplay. Last May, he had left a red-hot Virat Kohli clueless with a sharp inswinger that the batsmen wondered how he delivered later on. Right through this IPL and in the lead-up he has been working alongside renowned bowling coach Bharat Arun. The plans have been simple: Arun would put him under pressure and watch how Prince responds with his execution. Through the sessions Arun had seen Prince respond in the way he expected. At the IPL he showed it in the middle.
On Sunday, after getting his India cap, he proved his mettle in the middle, showing why he is a talent to persist with. Showing no signs of nerves, he went about playing to his strengths at all points. Even at the death, he showed the maturity to not get predictable by relying on yorkers, mixing it up with short deliveries and well disguised slower balls. Three wickets to his name on debut was a reward for the work he did and his scalps included Harry Tector, who top scored with 53. If not for his fifty and Ben Calitz’ 37 off 23 deliveries, Ireland wouldn’t have got the impetus in the middle-overs, which ultimately took them to 154/8 that seemed on par. In the end it was more than enough.
Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel of India during the 2nd T20 International match between India and Ireland at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on June 28, 2026. (CREIMAS) 
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