Ireland registered one of the greatest victories in cricket history on Sunday, defeating reigning T20 World Cup champions India by a single run in the second T20I to sweep the series 2-0 at Stormont Civil Service Cricket Club.The victory marked Ireland’s first win over India in a bilateral series and ended the visitors’ impressive run of 16 consecutive T20I series dating back to 2023. Despite being without five key regulars, Lorcan Tucker’s side produced two disciplined performances in both games to beat the Asian giants. India’s 155-run chase was led by Tilak Varma, whose 50 kept the game alive till the final stages. However, Jai Moondra’s opening spell, followed by composed death bowling from the Irish attack, proved decisive as the hosts successfully defended a modest total.The Irish bowling team once again stood out throughout the series, with Mondella and Matthew Hollard taking three wickets each in the second game. For India, the defeat exposed some familiar issues, particularly their struggles with left-arm speed and adapting to conditions outside the Indian Cricket League.The chase ended almost immediately. Mudra struck twice in his slot, eliminating both men Sanzhou Samson swear Abhishek Sharma For the first ball duck. Samson was trapped lbw after missing a flick off a slipping delivery. Two balls later, Abhishek missed a short ball and was caught by the third man.India’s troubles deepen Shreyas Iyer After scoring 10 runs, Ishan Kishan tried to rebuild with Tilak Varma but confusion between the wickets resulted in 12 runs out. In the Powerplay match, the scoreboard read 4-39, with India losing 4 wickets in the first 6 overs for only the 13th time in T20I history.Varma responded calmly, finding Mudra’s boundaries through the leg side in succession, and then shared a 32-run partnership with Axar Patel to stabilize the innings. A brief spell of rain disrupted play but the duo ensured that India remained in the tournament even as the required rates continued to climb.Ireland struck again after the restart with Matthew Hollard dismissing Axar Patel. While trying to guide the ball, Axar found Lorcan Tucker who took a brilliant one-handed catch behind the stumps.Shivam Dube briefly injected momentum with two boundaries before digging out Matthew Humphreys through deep square leg. Varma, meanwhile, continued to dominate the innings and reached his half-century off 45 balls by sending Kholard to deep mid-wicket in India’s first six overs.However, his stay ended immediately afterwards. Looking to clear the infield again, Varma fired an untimely high shot to extra cover and debutant Suryansh Shedge soon followed up after failing to clear a larger boundary and being trapped at deep mid-wicket.Harshit Rana then launched a belated counterattack to keep India’s hopes alive. He led Moondra with four points and then six points to bring the deficit down to the 20 points needed in the final over. Rana added another goal through a free-kick after the ball eluded the keeper, while Harry Turkett conceded twice to give India hope.However, Turk kept his cool in the most crucial moment, prompting Rana to hole the ball. Prince Yadav hit a six off the last delivery but India ended up agonizingly one run behind at 153 for 9.Earlier, Ireland recovered from a shaky start to score 154 for 8 after being asked to bat first. Harry Tector scored 53 runs and Ben Calitz contributed a valuable 37 runs. Debutant Prince Yadav scored 3 for 22 and Shivam Dube impressed with 2 for 25.Short Scores: Ireland 154/8 in 20 overs (Hari Turk 53, Ben Kalitz 37; Prince Yadav 3-22, Shivam Dubey 2-25) defeated India 153/9 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 55, Harshit Ranalana 21; Matthew Homond 3-26);
