Ireland registered one of the biggest victories in their cricket history on Sunday, edging out reigning T20 World Cup champions India by one run in the second T20I to complete a sensational 2-0 series sweep at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Stormont.The triumph marked Ireland’s first-ever bilateral win over India and ended the visitors’ remarkable run of 16 successful T20I series victories, a streak that stretches back to 2023. Despite being without five regular first-choice players, Lorcan Tucker’s side put in two disciplined performances to outplay the Asian giants in both matches. India’s chase of 155 was held together by Tilak Varma, whose fifty kept the contest alive till the closing stages. However, a brilliant opening spell from Jai Moondra, followed by a composed death throw after an Irish attack, proved decisive as the hosts successfully defended a modest total.Ireland’s bowling unit once again excelled in the series, with Moondro and Matthew Hollard claiming three wickets each in the second game. For India, the defeat exposed familiar problems, particularly their struggles against left-arm pace and adapting to non-IPL conditions.The chase unfolded almost immediately. Moondra struck twice in his opener to remove both Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for ducks on the first ball. Samson, was trapped lbw after missing the flick on a sloppy delivery. Two balls later, Abhishek mistimed a short ball and was caught at third man.India’s woes deepened when the captain Shreyas Iyer clipped one back to his stumps off Moondra after scoring 10. Ishan Kishan tried to rebuild along with Tilak Varma but a mix-up between the wickets resulted in a run-out for 12. At 39 for 4 inside the Powerplay, India lost four wickets inside the first six overs for only the 13th time in T20I history.Varma responded with composure, finding back-to-back boundaries off Moondra through leg before sharing a 32-run partnership with Axar Patel to anchor the innings. A brief rain interruption halted play but the pair ensured India stayed in the contest despite the required rate continuing to rise.Ireland struck again after the restart when Matthew Hollard dismissed Axar Patel. Attempting to drive the ball, Axar instead found Lorcan Tucker, who completed a brilliant one-handed diving catch to his left behind the stumps.Shivam Dube briefly injected momentum with a couple of boundaries before being dropped to deep square leg by Matthew Humphreys. Varma, meanwhile, continued to anchor the innings and reached his half-century in 45 balls by launching the first six of India’s innings, sending Hollard over deep mid-wicket.However, his stay ended immediately after that. Looking to clear the inside boundary again, Varma mistimed a sublime drive to extra cover, while debutant Suryansh Shedge soon followed after failing to clear a wider boundary and was caught at deep mid-wicket.Harshit Rana then launched a late counter-attack to keep India’s hopes alive. He took Moondra through point for four before smashing long-on for a six to pull the equation to 20 needed from the final over. Rana added another boundary from a free kick after the ball eluded the keeper, while Harry Tector conceded two wickets to boost India’s hopes.However, Tector held his nerve when it mattered most, getting Rana out to long-on. Prince Yadav hit a six off the last delivery but India eventually finished on 153 for 9, falling abysmally short by one run.Earlier, Ireland recovered from a shaky start to post 154 for 8 after being asked to bat first. Harry Tector anchored the innings with 53 while Ben Calitz contributed a valuable 37. Debutant Prince Yadav impressed with figures of 3 for 22 and Shivam Dube chipped in with 2 for 25.Brief scores: Ireland 154/8 in 20 overs (Harry Tector 53, Ben Calitz 37; Prince Yadav 3-22, Shivam Dube 2-25) beat India 153/9 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 55, Harshit Rana 21; Matthew Hollard 3-26, Jai Moondra 3-32) by one run.
