“They beat us”. Shreyas Iyer joins Rishabh Pant in unwanted Indian captaincy club after Ireland shock Cricket News:
NEW DELHI: Shreyas Iyer’s tenure as India’s T20I captain got off to the worst possible start after Ireland scripted one of the biggest changes in the format, bundling a historic 2-0 series win with a dramatic win in the second T20I at Stormont on Sunday.The loss not only gave Ireland their first ever T20I series win against India but also left Iyer with an unwanted record. He now becomes only the second Indian captain after Rishabh Pant to miss 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 winning streak of 16 consecutive T20I series that lasted until 2023.
“They have a great idea about the wicket”
A disappointed Iyer admitted that Ireland deserved every bit of the series win, praising the hosts for reading the conditions better than his side.“It’s still not a good series, honestly speaking, but kudos to them, the way they played,” Iyer said after the match.“The Irish team, I think they showed professionalism and definitely had a great idea of how to play the wicket and the work in the field there was fantastic. So a comprehensive win for them and congratulations.”The Indian skipper felt that his bowlers executed their plans well enough but admitted that the batting unit failed to adapt to the challenging conditions.
“We failed to analyze the wicket”
Iyer pointed to India’s inability to check the face properly and rotate the strike as the decisive factor in the defeat.“Absolutely. I feel the bowlers, they are phenomenal in terms of their executions today. But we lacked a bit in our batting. We are a bit lacking in terms of analyzing how to play the wicket and also converting singles into twos. I think they definitely outperformed us in that department. “India’s chase broke down almost immediately after Jai Moondra, a software engineer from Rajasthan’s Tonk representing Ireland, dismissed Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for a first-ball duck before dismissing Iyer himself. At 35 for 4, India were left with a lot of work 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 scored 53 in his 100th T20I appearance.
Supporting newcomers despite a difficult debut
Despite the disappointing result, Iyer backed the new faces in the squad and expressed confidence that they would benefit from the experience.“Prince has a lot of experience in the IPL and he brings that momentum here as well. But the attitude and approach he has and also Suryansh … this is his first game, but yes, he will definitely learn from it.The signing has a message for Ireland fans, Iyer added. “Thank you very much. It is an honor and a pleasure to be here.”As Ireland celebrated the biggest T20I series win in their history, Iyer’s captaincy reign began with two painful defeats, leaving India looking for answers ahead of their next assignment.
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