Ireland stun India 2-0 in T20 series with thrilling one-run win

Ireland beat 20-over world champions India 2-0 in their two-match T20 bilateral series, as they secured a thrilling one-run win over ​the white-ball heavyweights on Sunday.

Ireland’s Jai Moondra and Matt Hollard dismantled the ‌Indian batting line-up with three-wicket hauls as the visitors could only manage 153-9 after Ireland, put in to bat, posted 154-8 on a rain-disrupted afternoon in Belfast.

The hosts, who earned ​their first-ever victory over India on Friday, handed the visitors their first T20 series ​defeat since 2023.

“I challenged the lads the other day to ⁠show the world that (the first win) wasn’t a one-off,” said Ireland captain Lorcan ​Tucker.

“We have a lot of lads with very few caps but they showed great ​character… it is a great time to be a professional cricketer in Ireland.”

Ireland made a shaky start as their openers fell in the first three overs and Prince Yadav (3-22) making ​his T20 debut for India, helped restrict the flow of runs in the ​first half of the innings.

But Harry Tector (53) and Ben Calitz (37) helped Ireland recover and post a ‌competitive ⁠total.

In reply, player-of-the-series Moondra (3-32) dismissed Indian openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma in the very first over, and bowled captain Shreyas Iyer in the third over, leaving India reeling at 19-3.

Tilak Varma’s fighting knock of 55 kept India in the ​hunt, but Hollard (3-26) ​got him caught ⁠by wicketkeeper Tucker, dealing a crucial blow to the visitors’ hopes.

Still, Harshit Rana (21 off 10 balls) got the visitors close, ​and they needed eight runs to win from the last ​two balls. ⁠But Rana was caught trying to hit Tector for a six off the penultimate delivery to seal Ireland’s win.

“Kudos to (Ireland), the way they played. Showed professionalism, they had ⁠a tremendous ​idea of how the wicket was going to ​play,” Iyer said.

India will next visit England for a five-match T20 series starting July 1, followed by three ​50-over matches.