India don suffer their first defeat against Ireland for nine meetings, as dem lose di opening T20I for Belfast by 34 runs. Di match wey happen for Stormont Cricket Ground, na di first since India win di T20 World Cup 2026, and e also mark di beginning of Shreyas Iyer captaincy era.
Teenage opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, wey be 15-year-old, no make di playing XI. Many fans dey expect say management go give am chance, but dem stick with di usual opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. Iyer say before match, “He’s a gun player but we have some tremendous players wey don do well for us, so we dey back dem. He go get im chance when time come.”
Ireland wey bat first, recover from 51/4 through captain Lorcan Tucker half-century and Gareth Delany 49 to post 182/9. Harshit Rana star with ball for India, wey collect 3/24. India chase no fully recover after dem lose three wickets inside powerplay. Abhishek Sharma with 20-ball 49 keep di visitors for contention, but dem still fall short.
India make perfect start after dem opt to field, with Harshit Rana dismiss Ross Adair and Tim Tector inside first four overs. Arshdeep Singh remove Harry Tector for duck to leave Ireland at 36/3 for end of powerplay. Shivam Dube then strike with im first delivery to send back Ben Calitz as hosts slip to 51/4 for di eighth over. Captain Lorcan Tucker lead recovery with composed 50 off 36 balls and share 64-run fifth-wicket stand with Gareth Delany.
Di partnership steady di innings before Harshit return to dismiss Tucker for di 15th over. Delany continue counterattack, make 49 from 32 deliveries, while George Dockrell add quick 19 off 10. Axar Patel break di stand by removing Dockrell before dismiss Liam McCarthy for di next over, while Arshdeep deny Delany half-century for di penultimate over. Ireland add 64 runs for di final five overs to finish on competitive 182/9.
Sanju Samson bin bowled by Jai Moondra for di second over before Matt Hollard remove Ishan Kishan and captain Shreyas Iyer inside powerplay to leave visitors at 68/3 after six overs. Abhishek Sharma, however, ensure India keep up with required rate. Di left-hander hit seven fours and two sixes before Liam McCarthy dismiss am with India on 80/4 for di eighth over. Ireland continue to chip away at batting line-up as Hollard remove Washington Sundar for im third wicket on debut, while Matthew Humphreys dismiss Tilak Varma before return at di death to wrap up innings with two more wickets. Shivam Dube 25 offer brief resistance but India lose dia final four wickets for 13 runs to be bowled out for 148.
Di defeat mirror India start after dem win 2024 T20 World Cup, when dem lose di opening T20 international of subsequent Zimbabwe series before bounce back to win di five-match contest 4-1. India go look to level series when di second and final T20 international play for same venue for Belfast on Sunday.
