The India National Cricket Team played the Ireland National Cricket Team at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Stormont, Belfast, Ireland, in the first of a two-match T20I series. However, Shreyas Iyer did not have the best of a start to his India captaincy as he was dismissed for three runs while chasing a target of 183 runs.
India were off to a decent start while chasing the target. Shreyas Iyer came in at the wicket after two wickets and looked a bit gusty while batting. He was at the wicket before the wicket ball top-edged one ball on a bouncy wicket.
Shreyas Iyer departs cheaply on captaincy debut
Debutant Mathew Hollard delivered a full ball on and around off, but Shreyas Iyer had shuffled across and flicked it off the pads flat square on the leg-side. The team India captain did not have the best of timing and picked out the fielder at deep square to his right as George Dockrell did not make a mistake with Iyer departing for 3 off 7 balls.
Iyer does not have the best of scores in his last five T20I innings, as he has scored just one fifty in five innings; the India captain has 77 runs across five innings, including today’s match. This would be a concern for the experienced cricketer who has been in good form in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
India struggling against Ireland
India are now in trouble as Abhishek Sharma got dismissed soon after scoring his half-century. The Southpaw fell for 50 off 20 deliveries. He smacked two sixes and seven fours in his flamboyant innings. Sanju Samson was dismissed early for five runs, and so was Ishan Kishan, who went back for one run, as debutant of Ireland, Matthew Hollard, picked up two wickets.
Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar are at the crease as India are now 88-4. The Men in Blue need to form a partnership between these two, as the run chase will be easier with two batters still to come, and Harshit Rana can bat as well.
Ireland, after being asked to bat first, lost wickets at regular intervals, and Loren Tucker scored fifty. He and Gareth Delany stitched a partnership of 64 off 44 deliveries, which helped the side to post a total of 182/9. The latter scored 49 runs, and Harshit Rana was the pick of the bowlers for 3/24; Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh picked two wickets each.
Fans Troll Iyer after dismissed cheaply
Our captain Shreyas , fought till the end but nobody supported him
— Naman (@NamanJha2429491) June 26, 2026
I want india logo se this match to see what is Sanju Samson s inconsistency..ek world cup jita diya theek hai ODI khila lo.. T20 youngsters ka khel hai aur Vaibhav chamakta sitara hai use hi drop kar diya..wah re GG and Shreyas le liya badla IPL ki haar ka
— Er Manish soni (@ErManishsoni2) June 26, 2026
The shreyas india needs the shreyas india have pic.twitter.com/8b41nFsBjv
— Obaid Khan (@ObaidKh14) June 26, 2026
Shreyas iyar tuk tuk indian T20 failed captain 1(6).🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
— vishnu (@theprem2610) June 26, 2026
A T20I captaincy debut to forget for Shreyas Iyer. #INDvsIRE
— Cricjockey (@cricjockey0) June 26, 2026
India 76/3 chasing 183.
Samson gone. Shreyas gone.Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is sitting in the dugout.
A 15-year-old is watching adults struggle. 🙂#INDvIRE pic.twitter.com/yyMveRRwVL
— The Stump Mic 🎙️ (@StumpMicHQ) June 26, 2026
Scored 3(9) against mighty Ireland. 😭
Shreyas Iyer, you’re always a big fraud. 😡 pic.twitter.com/GCoeZpFCZw
— Kunal Yadav (@Kunal_KLR) June 26, 2026