It is one of the biggest upsets in recent cricket memory. Ireland — who had lost all eight of their previous internationals against India — beat the reigning T20 World Champions not once but twice in Belfast to sweep the two-match series 2–0, snapping an Indian unbeaten run that had stretched across 16 T20I series and nearly three years.
Game 1: the dam breaks
Batting first at Stormont on June 26, Ireland posted 182/9, anchored by new captain Lorcan Tucker's fifty and a quickfire 49 from Gareth Delany. India, fresh off their March World Cup triumph, were expected to chase it down comfortably. Instead they folded for 148, undone by two debutant quicks — Indian-born Jai Moondra and Matt Hollard — who shared the new ball and India's nerves. Abhishek Sharma's blazing 49 off 20 was the only real resistance. Ireland won by 34 runs, and Belfast had its first-ever victory over India.
Game 2: the one-run heist
The decider was even crueller. Ireland managed only 154/8 — Harry Tector grinding out 53 on his 100th T20I, India's debutant Prince Yadav impressing with 3/22. A modest target. But India's chase imploded at the start: Moondra dismissed both openers, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, for golden ducks — only the fourth time in T20I history both openers have fallen first ball. Despite a gutsy 55 from Tilak Varma, India crawled to 153/9 and fell agonisingly one run short.
The man of the moment
Jai Moondra, an Indian-born left-arm quick now playing for Ireland, took a wicket with his very first ball in international cricket — and didn't stop. Fans in the stands held up signs reading "Moondra hai toh mumkin hai." By the end of the weekend, Ireland's two debutant pacers had rewritten the script against the world's most feared batting line-up.
What it means for India
This was India's first T20I assignment since lifting the World Cup, and the first series of Shreyas Iyer's captaincy — a debut now stamped with a historic defeat. Selection calls are already under the microscope: 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was carried in the squad but left out of both games, and India's batting collapses in seam-friendly Belfast conditions raised hard questions. The good news for India? A chance to respond immediately — they head to England for a five-match T20I series starting July 1.
For Ireland, this is the kind of result a cricketing nation builds a generation of dreams on — beating the world champions, at home, twice.