Ireland created history by defeating India for the first time in the first T20 match played in Belfast. Know the 5 big reasons for Team India’s defeat, where the mistakes happened in batting and bowling and what is India’s position in the series now.
Big upsets are often seen in cricket, but what happened in Belfast surprised Indian cricket fans. Ireland created history by defeating T20 World Cup champion and world number-1 T20 team India in the first T20 match. This is Ireland’s first win against India in international cricket.
Chasing the target of 182 runs, the Indian team was reduced to 148 runs. With this defeat, India was also out of the race to win the two-match series. Now even if the next match is won, the series will be tied only at 1-1.
5 big reasons for India’s defeat
1.Belfast pitch changed in the second innings: The behavior of the pitch completely changed in the second innings as compared to the first innings. The ball started coming intermittently and the batsmen had trouble playing shots. Indian batsmen could not adapt themselves to the conditions.
2. Batting was a complete flop: Except Abhishek Sharma, no batsman could play a big innings. Batsmen like Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Verma were out early. India was never able to make a comeback in the match due to continuous fall of wickets.
3. Brilliant strategy by Ireland’s bowlers: Debutants Matthew Hallard and Jai Mundhra put pressure on the Indian batting. Both took two wickets each, while left-arm spinner Humphreys dashed India’s hopes by taking three wickets.
4. Indian bowlers gave away a lot of runs: India’s bowling also did not live up to expectations. Prasidh Krishna spent 57 runs in four overs, while Washington Sundar got 19 runs in one over. For this reason Ireland was successful in reaching a challenging score.
5. Bad fielding also proved costly: The Indian team dropped three easy catches on the field. Abhishek Sharma left Gareth Delaney caught for just one run. Delaney took full advantage of this and played an important inning of 49 runs, which changed the course of the match.
Last hope to save the series
After the defeat in the first match, now Team India has the challenge of saving the series. If India wins the second T20, the series will be tied at 1-1, while in case of defeat, Ireland will register a historic series win. In such a situation, better batting, accurate bowling and strong fielding will be expected from the Indian team in the next match.