Captain of India Shreyas Iyer admitted his side dropped the game despite an ideal start with the ball as Ireland stunned the reigning T20 world champions by 34 runs in the opening T20I to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.Leading India for the first time as full-time T20I captain, Iyer felt the bowlers executed their plans well in the early stages but failed to maintain the same discipline during the middle and death overs, allowing Ireland to recover from a precarious position. “At first I thought the bowlers bowled well. They had lateral movement and they had a couple of wickets. So we got off to a great start, but in between we lost in execution. We’ve had them hit straight into the ground, and we know the dimensions are pretty small. But then, yes, the bowlers, when we had to shut down the overs, they were brilliant too. So I thought 140 would be an amazing score given the start we had to chase. But still, great experience here. We have to play in these conditions, we got a good idea of ​​the goal and yes, a great start as captain.”After reducing Ireland to 36/3 in the Powerplay, India allowed Lorcan Tucker, Gareth Delany and George Dockrell for a turnaround in the innings as the hosts ended up scoring 182/9. Delany and Dockrell’s attack on Prasidh Krishna in the death overs, including the 27-run over, proved decisive.Asked if India’s long layoff contributed to the defeat, Iyer admitted there was rust but insisted the team would move on quickly and focus on the deciding series.“Yeah, definitely. We’ll forget what happened. There’s definitely a lot we can learn from this game and make sure we come out with full guns blazing in the next game.”The India captain was particularly lauded by Harshit Rana who impressed with figures of 3/24 in his return from injury and highlighted the value of Shivam Dube’s contribution with the ball.“Yes, definitely. They were getting help in the attack early on and Shivam has bowled crucial overs in the past. So I always support him, and I played with him in domestic circles as well. I know his strengths and weaknesses. And Harshit Rana, he bowled phenomenally. To come back from injury and perform at this level and show this kind of talent, it’s just brilliant.”India’s chase never gained momentum despite Abhishek Sharma‘s explosive 50 off 20 balls and the visitors were eventually bowled out for 148 as Ireland registered their first win over India in any format.Reflecting on the defeat, Iyer urged his teammates not to become complacent and stressed the importance of capitalizing whenever the opposition is under pressure.“I don’t think you can take anything for granted. You can’t just show up and win matches. You have to work hard and make sure you’re in the moment. Like I mentioned earlier, you have to stay in the present and make sure if you have that opportunity to squeeze an opponent, we have to do it. And yeah, never take any moment or situation lightly.”Despite a disappointing result in his first match as India’s full-time T20I captain, Iyer made it clear that the team is already focused on recovery.“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”
