‘They outplayed us’: Shreyas Iyer joins Rishabh Pant in unwanted India captaincy club after Ireland shock | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: Shreyas Iyer’s tenure as India’s T20I captain has begun in the worst possible fashion after Ireland scripted one of the biggest upsets in the format, sealing a historic 2-0 series victory with a dramatic one-run win in the second T20I at Stormont on Sunday.The defeat not only handed Ireland their first-ever T20I series win over India but also left Iyer with an unwanted record. He has now become only the second Indian captain after Rishabh Pant to lose each of his first two T20Is in charge.India, the reigning T20 World Cup champions, failed to chase down a modest target of 155, finishing on 153 for 9 despite a late fightback from Harshit Rana (21 off 10). The defeat also ended India’s remarkable streak of 16 consecutive T20I series victories that had stretched back to 2023.
‘They had a tremendous idea about the wicket’
A disappointed Iyer admitted Ireland deserved every bit of the series triumph, praising the hosts for reading the conditions far better than his side.“It’s still definitely not a great series, honestly speaking, but kudos to them, the way they played,” Iyer said after the match.“Ireland team, I think they showed professionalism and definitely had a tremendous idea about how the wicket was going to play and the field work there was phenomenal. So a comprehensive win to them and congratulations.”The Indian skipper felt his bowlers had executed their plans well enough but accepted that the batting unit failed to adapt to the challenging conditions.
‘We fell short in analysing the wicket’
Iyer pointed to India’s inability to assess the surface correctly and rotate strike as the decisive factor behind the defeat.“Absolutely. I feel the bowlers, they were phenomenal in terms of their executions today. But we fell a bit short in our batting. We fell a bit short in terms of analysing how the wicket is going to play and also converting singles into twos. I think they definitely outplayed us in that department.”India’s chase unravelled almost immediately after Jai Moondra, a software engineer from Rajasthan’s Tonk who represents Ireland, dismissed Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for first-ball ducks before removing Iyer himself. At 35 for 4, India were left with too much to do despite Tilak Varma’s fighting 55.Earlier, debutant Prince impressed with three wickets while Shivam Dube claimed two as Ireland were restricted to 154 for 8, with Harry Tector scoring 53 in his 100th T20I appearance.
Backing the newcomers despite difficult debut
Despite the disappointing result, Iyer backed the new faces in the squad and expressed confidence they would benefit from the experience.“Prince has got great experience in the IPL and he carries that momentum over here as well. He has his own set of ideas and plans when it comes down to the ball. But the attitude and approach which he had and also Suryansh… it was his first game, but yeah, he will definitely learn from this.”Signing off with a message for the Irish fans, Iyer added: “Thank you so much. It’s an honor and a pleasure to be here.”While Ireland celebrated the greatest T20I series triumph in their history, Iyer’s captaincy reign began with two painful defeats, leaving India searching for answers ahead of their next assignment.
