Tilak VarmaA struggling half-century was one of the few positives for India in their dramatic one-run defeat by Ireland in the second T20I on Sunday, but the left-hander also found himself on the blacklist after registering one of the slowest fifties by an Indian in T20 Internationals.Walking with India in deep trouble after a top-order collapse, Tilak reached his half-century in 45 deliveries during the chase for 155 at Stormont. The knock is now tied as the sixth-slowest T20I 50 by an Indian and stands as the slowest ever half-century by an Indian batsman against Ireland in the format.Slowest T20I 50s for India (by balls)56 KL Rahul vs SA Trivandrum 202254 G Gambhir vs Aus Melbourne 201249 SK Yadav vs USA New York 202448 V Kohli vs SA Bridgetown 202445 V Kohli vs Pak Dubai 202145 T Varma v Irish Belfast 2026 *The circumstances, however, were far from normal. India were rocked in the opener when software engineer-turned-cricketer Jai Moondra, who hails from Tonk in Rajasthan and still holds an Indian passport, was sacked Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for the first ball before the change of captain Shreyas Iyer leave visitors in doubt.India then slumped to 35 for 4 inside the Powerplay Ishan Kishan ran out, leaving Tilak with the task of rebuilding the changes on a surface that offers movement, uneven bounce and seams throughout the chase.Unlike several of his teammates who struggled to adjust to the conditions, Tilak adopted a patient approach, soaking up the pressure before forming a valuable partnership with Axar Patel. He eventually brought up his fifty by launching Matthew Hollard over deep mid-wicket for the first six of India’s innings.The turning point, however, turned out to be short-lived. Attempting another strike off the very next ball, Tilak mistimed a lofted drive into extra cover and went for 55 off 46 deliveries, ending India’s best hope of completing the chase.Harshit Rana’s late burst of 21 from just 10 balls briefly revived India’s hopes, but Ireland had the guts to restrict India to 153 for 9, sealing a famous one-run win and completing a historic 2-0 series win over the reigning T20 World Cup winners.The defeat also ended India’s run of 16 consecutive T20I series victories dating back to 2023, while Ireland celebrated their first bilateral T20I series triumph over India.
