Ireland have achieved an historic victory over India after beating the reigning T20I world champions by 34 runs at Stormont, Belfast.The shock win is a first for the Irish against India in international cricket across any format — at the 12th time of asking — and thrusts them 1-0 up in the two-match series. The tourists won the World Cup in 2024 and retained the title earlier this year, but, after a bright start with the ball, an experienced side under the stewardship of new captain Shreyas Iyer struggled and ended up well beaten.India had opted against handing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, at 15 years 91 days, his senior debut — which would have established him as the youngest player in their history. That record is now likely to be broken in Sunday’s second fixture between the sides.Ireland had initially slipped to 36-3 before their captain Lorcan Tucker (50 off 36 balls) and Gareth Delany (40 off 32) mounted a recovery to steer them to a competitive 182-9 off their 20 overs. Tucker’s options with the ball had been hampered by injury, but the team’s two debutants — Jai Moodra and Mat Hollard — took their opportunity in spectacular fashion.Rajasthan-born Moodra dismissed Sanju Samson, one of the stars of the World Cup, with his first ball in international cricket and finished with figures of 2-26. Hollard, who grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, claimed the wickets of Ishan Kishan with his second ball at this level and later saw off Iyer and Washington Sundar. He finished with 3-38.Jai Moondra celebrates removing Sanju Samson with his first ball in international cricket (Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)“I never expected this,” Hollard told TNT Sports post-match. “I always knew I had it, but to have a debut against India is a dream come true. My family have flown out from Johannesburg to come and watch. I haven’t seen them in a while; nothing could be better right now. Them seeing me receive my cap and then cheering me from the sidelines… it’s a bit of a dream right now, in all honesty.”Only Abhishek Sharma, with 50 off 25 balls, and Shivam Dube (25 off 14) threatened to knock the home side off course, with Harry Tector catching Ashdeep Singh off Matthew Humphreys to complete the win with seven balls to spare.“There’s definitely a lot to learn from this game,” admitted Iyer. “And we have to see to it that we come out in the next game all guns blazing. (This shows) you can’t take anything for granted. You can’t just turn up and win matches. You have to work hard and see to it that you’re in that moment. Never take any moment or situation lightly.”Ireland’s Ben Calitz celebrates after the dismissal of Washington Sundar (Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)“This is pretty special to beat the world champions at home,” added Tucker. “We scrapped through that game, stayed in it, were diligent and worked hard. India bowled really well at the start, really good lengths, and stuck at them. We found it challenging to hit good shots; it felt like a Test match at one stage.“But I think we tried to stay in the game, build a partnership and then took our opportunities.”The second game is at Stormont on Sunday before India travel to England next week for a five-match T20I series.Jun 26, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms