‘Wow’: Irfan Pathan reacts to India’s defeat by Ireland

Ireland vs India (Photo: Getty Images) Ireland made history on Friday by beating India for the first time in international cricket to secure a memorable 34-run victory in the opening T20I at Stormont in Belfast. The result came as a big surprise considering India entered the series as the reigning T20 World Cup champions under new captain Shreyas Iyer.The unexpected result also drew a reaction from former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who expressed his shock on social media. “Wow. Didn’t think I’d see the India vs Ireland team score. Well played Ireland,” Pathan wrote on X after the match.After being asked to bat first, Ireland posted a competitive total of 182/9. Captain Lorcan Tucker led from the front with a well-made 50 off 36 balls while Gareth Delany chipped in with 49 off 32 balls.The hosts then produced a disciplined bowling performance to bowl India out for 148 in 18.5 overs. Debutant Matt Hollard took figures of 3/28 in four overs and was named man of the match, while another newcomer Jai Moondra played a key role in restricting the visitors. For India, Harshit Rana took 3/24 while Abhishek Sharma’s explosive 50 off 20 balls was the only bright spot in the chase.Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker celebrated the significance of the win after the match. “It was a bit like a Test match. I think it’s pretty special to beat the world champions at home. Credit goes to the boys. All the work behind the scenes for Cricket Ireland,” he said.Meanwhile, India captain Shreyas Iyer admitted that his team is lagging behind but remained optimistic ahead of the second T20I. “Initially the bowlers bowled venom. But in between we lost our execution and let them hit us straight down the ground where the boundaries are smaller. I thought 140 would be a good score to chase given the start we had with the ball. But yeah, a great start as captain. We’ll definitely forget what happened and there’s a lot to learn from this game.”