Belfast: Captain Lorgan Tucker’s superb half-century followed by three wickets from Matt Hollard helped Ireland beat defending champions India by a historic margin of 34 runs in the first T20I of the two-match home series at the Civil Service Cricket Club on Friday.
The victory marked Ireland’s first three-time champions and came after eight successive defeats.
India’s new captain Shreyas Iyer’s decision to bat first backfired as the home side amassed a mammoth total of 182/9 in 20 overs thanks to a fifth-wicket stand of 64 between skipper Tucker and Gareth Delaney.
Both batted sensibly against a pace-laden Indian bowling attack and rallied Ireland from a shaky spell, which saw them reduced to 51/4 in 7.1 overs.
Harshit Rana eventually broke the match-defining partnership off the third ball of the 15th over with 5 fours and 2 sixes to dismiss Tucker, who was the highest scorer for 50 off 36 balls.
Delaney, on the other hand, put on another crucial partnership, with George Doughrell (19) in a 49-run partnership for the sixth wicket in which the duo were dismissed back-to-back.
The batting all-rounder made a major contribution to Ireland’s total, scoring 49 off just 32 balls, smashing three sixes and several fours.
Rana was the pick of India’s bowlers as he took 3 wickets for just 24 runs in his four overs, followed by Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel with 2 each and Shivam Dubey picking up a wicket.
Chasing a tough target of 183 to win, Abhishek Sharma scored a blistering 49 to amass 148 in 18.5 overs but suffered a crushing defeat in the series opener.
Top-ranked T20I batsman Abhishek got India off to a brilliant start with a 20-ball 49 with 7 fours and 2 sixes despite losing partners at the other end.
But following his dismissal in the eighth over, India lost two more wickets at an alarming rate to slump to 100/6 in 12 overs, needing 83 off 48 balls.
All-rounders Shivam Dubey (25) and Axar Patel (15) offered some resistance in a 35-run partnership, but their back-to-back dismissals left India in a dire situation, with just 2 wickets in hand from 19 balls.
Matthew Humphreys dealt the final blow to India’s chances as he dismissed both Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh in the final to seal a historic win for the European side.
Humphreys jointly led Ireland’s spirited bowling with Hallard as the pair claimed three wickets each. Left-arm pacer Jai Moondra claimed two wickets while Liam McCarthy and Delaney took one each.