‘We failed…’. Abhishek Sharma explains India’s shock loss to Ireland Cricket News:
NEW DELHI: Opening India: Abhishek Sharma admitted that his side failed to adjust to the conditions after Ireland stunned the reigning T20 World Cup champions by 34 runs in the first T20I in Belfast on Friday.Despite smashing a blazing half-century, Abhishek could not prevent India from suffering their first ever defeat against Ireland in any form. The loss also marks a disappointing start for: Shreyas IyerThe Ireland captain is leading 1-0 in the two-match series.“We need to adapt quickly”Abhishek said that adapting to the conditions quickly is important, especially when teams have less time between games.“It’s how fast we adapt to the conditions, that’s important as a team, because when you play back-to-back games, as a group you have to move forward and get used to the conditions, whenever you practice or maybe get used to it, I feel like a dominating team, you have to adapt quickly and that’s what we tried today, but unfortunately it didn’t happen with the reporters,” Sharma said.Ireland is making historyIreland posted a challenging 182/9 after captain Lorcan Tucker led the way with a well-executed half-century. Gareth Delany added 49, while George Dockrell provided the late fireworks to lift the hosts to a strong total.Harshit Rana was India’s best bowler with figures of 3/24, while Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel took two wickets each.Abhishek shines, India crumblesChasing 183, India got off to a flying start with Abhishek’s attack from the first over. He hammered seven fours and two sixes to race to his fifty in just 19 balls before falling to 50 in just 20 deliveries.However, wickets continued to surround him. Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and captain Shreyas Iyer all failed to make an impact, while Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel were unable to build partnerships.Shivam Dube briefly revived India’s hopes with a quick 25 off 16 balls, but his dismissal ended any chance of a comeback. India were eventually bowled out for 148 in 18.5 overs.Matthew Hollard and Matthew Humphreys starred with three wickets each for Ireland, while debutant Jai Moondra impressed with figures of 2/25.Line seriesThe two teams meet again in the second and final T20I on Sunday, with India needing a win to avoid back-to-back defeats after Ireland’s historic breakthrough win.
Post Comment