India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted there was a “little bit of disbelief” in the camp after the T20 world champions slumped to a 2-0 T20I series defeat against Ireland their first series loss in nearly three years and the end of a 16-series unbeaten run in the format.
Coach opens up on shock series loss
“There’s a little bit of disbelief,” ten Doeschate said, adding that it was “very hard to be critical of guys who have just won a World Cup.” He pointed out that Ireland had simply stuck to the basics and outsmarted India’s batters, noting the tourists managed only two sixes across the two matches both off spin. The bigger lesson, he said, was about adapting faster to unfamiliar conditions, a challenge he expects to resurface on India’s upcoming tour of England.
How Ireland scripted history
In the series opener, Ireland batted first and posted 182/9, built around half-centuries from skipper Lorcan Tucker (50 off 36) and Gareth Delany (49). Chasing 183, Abhishek Sharma’s 49 off 20 balls was India’s lone bright spot, with Shivam Dube’s 25 off 14 the only other contribution of note. Ireland’s Matthew Humphreys and Matt Hollard took three wickets apiece as India were bowled out for 148, handing the hosts a 34-run win their first-ever victory over India in international cricket.
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India’s bowlers hit back in the second match, restricting Ireland to 154/8. But the chase fell apart almost immediately, with Indian-born debutant pacer Jai Moondra removing Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and captain Shreyas Iyer inside the first three overs. The back-to-back T20 World Cup champions never recovered, eventually losing the match by just 1 run to complete a stunning 2-0 series whitewash.