Double world champions India were handed a brutal reality check as Ireland eked out a one-run win in the second T20 in Belfast to clinch an unprecedented 2-0 series sweep, putting serious doubts in the minds of the top-ranked team ahead of a five-match series in England.
India entered the series as overwhelming favourites. After all, they had just won the T20 world title a few months back and their players were fresh from the rigours of the Indian Premier League – the leading T20 competition in the world.
But they had next to zero preparations for conditions in Ireland, which favoured seam bowlers and put a premium on technically strong batting.
On all fronts, Ireland clearly held the upper hand. A pace attack put together at the last moment – led by debutant pacers Matt Hollard and Jai Moondra – due to multiple injuries decimated India’s batting in two matches, restricting them to under 160.
India were caught unawares in the first match as Ireland scored an above-par 182 in blustery conditions. Their batters struggled to put bat to ball and were bundled out for 148.
It was thought the world champions would come out all guns blazing in the second match. However, the conditions became even more challenging in Belfast owing to multiple rain delays.
India’s top order was all at sea against the moving ball as Lorcan Tucker’s team, after posting a par score of 154-8, held their nerves for a one-run win.
All-rounder Harshit Rana hit a few big blows towards the end to take his team close to the target, but it could not hide the shortcomings of the top order; openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson were out for golden ducks.
After the defeat, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted his players failed to adapt to the conditions.
“There’s a little bit of disbelief,” Ten Doeschate said.
“It’s also very hard to be critical of guys who have just won a World Cup. We’ve been outdone or outsmarted by a team who just did the basics very well.”
Ten Doeschate said his batters, who had become accustomed to flat conditions for most of the year, will need to pull up their socks.
“We’re probably too used to a tempo and style where you can hit sixes more freely. I think this will be the case when you go to England as well, you know, maybe slightly quicker wickets, maybe slightly less wind. But we’re going to have to adapt and be a lot smarter about how we’d like to play if we’re going to get wins there.”
What was even more chastening for India was the fact that the player of the series – fast bowler Moondra – came to Ireland from India and joined the tech industry, while continuing his cricket journey. Moondra apparently still needs to secure his long-term visa in Ireland to continue playing cricket.
India, meanwhile, were preoccupied with the prospect of IPL batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi making his international debut. All the focus was on the 15-year-old batting star, with seemingly little thought given to the nature of surfaces, conditions and size of the boundaries in Belfast.
In the end, two rookie bowlers picked up 11 wickets between them in two matches to tear India’s IPL-fed batting apart.
New captain Shreyas Iyer failed with the bat and as captain. The team’s next assignment is a tour of England beginning on Wednesday, which includes five T20 and three ODIs. India will not be under any illusions of grandeur any more.
