Ireland shocked India yet again, achieving their first ever T20I series victory over the world champions

Jai Moondra dismisses Sanju Samson for golden duck to trigger historic collapse (X-Cricbuzz) Ireland recorded one of the biggest victories in their cricket history on Sunday, beating reigning T20 world champions India by one run in the second T20I to complete a sensational 2-0 series at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Stormont.The triumph marked Ireland’s first-ever bilateral win over India and ended a remarkable 16-match T20I series win for the visitors, a streak that stretched until 2023. Despite not having five regular first-choice players, Lorcan Tucker’s side produced two disciplined performances to see off the Asian giants in both matches. India’s chase of 155 was held together by Tilak Varma, whose fifty kept the contest alive till the closing stages. However, Jai Moondra’s blistering opening spell, followed by some lethal bowling from the Irish attack, proved decisive as the hosts successfully defended a modest total.Ireland’s bowling unit once again excelled throughout the series, with Moondra and Matthew Hollard taking three wickets apiece in the second match. For India, the defeat exposed familiar issues, particularly their struggle against left-arm pace and adjusting to non-IPL conditions.The chase broke out almost immediately. Moondra struck twice in his opening over to remove both Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for a first-ball duck. Samson, was trapped lbw after missing a flick to a slippery delivery. Two balls later, Abhishek mishandled a short ball and was caught at third man.India’s woes deepened when skipper Shreyas Iyer chopped one back onto his stumps off Moondra after scoring 10. Ishan Kishan tried to rebuild alongside Tilak Varma, but a mix-up between the wickets resulted in a run-out of 12. At 39 for 4 in the Powerplay, India lost only the first 6 wickets of the T20I. history.Varma responded with composure, finding successive boundaries from Moondra through leg before sharing a 32-run partnership with Axar Patel to steady the innings. A brief rain interruption disrupted play, but the pair ensured that India stayed in the contest even as the required pace continued to rise.Ireland struck again after the restart when Matthew Hollard dismissed Axar Patel. Axar looked to guide the ball and instead found Lorcan Tucker, who completed a brilliant diving one-handed catch to the left behind the stumps.Shivam Dube briefly injected momentum with a couple of boundaries before taking on Matthew Humphreys at deep square leg. Varma, meanwhile, continued to anchor the innings, reaching his half-century in 45 balls by opening India’s first six innings, sending Hollard over deep mid-wicket.However, his stay soon ended. Looking to clear the infield again, Varma mistimed a raised drive to extra cover, while debutant Suryansh Shedge soon followed after failing to clear a bigger boundary and was caught at deep mid-wicket.Harshit Rana then launched a late counter-attack to keep India’s hopes alive. He bowled Moondra over point for four before leveling long-on with a six to pull the equation all the way to 20 required from the final over. Rana added another free-hit boundary after the ball eluded the wicketkeeper, while Harry Tector conceded two wides to boost India’s hopes.However, Tector held his nerve when it mattered most and made Rana dig out for a long time. Prince Yadav hit a six off the last delivery but India ended up at 153 for 9, agonizingly short by a single run.Ireland had earlier recovered from a shaky start to post 154 for 8 after being asked to bat first. Harry Tector anchored the innings with 53 while Ben Calitz contributed a valuable 37. Debutant Prince Yadav impressed with figures of 3 for 22 and Shivam Dube chipped in with 2 for 25.Brief score: Ireland 154/8 in 20 overs (Harry Tector 53, Ben Calitz 37; Prince Yadav 3-22, Shivam Dube 2-25) beat India 153/9 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 55, Harshit Rana 21; Matthew Hollard 1 run-3.2) Jai Moon 3-6