Ireland stunned reigning T20I world champions India as the home side completed a 2-0 series victory at Stormont, Belfast on Sunday with a one-run victory.On Friday, Ireland secured their first win over India in international cricket across any format, at the 12th attempt, with a convincing 34-run victory and followed it up with a much closer contest on Sunday, which inflicted a first T20I series defeat on India since 2023.India won the toss and elected to bowl first, as Harry Tector, making his 100th international appearance, top scored with 53 as Ireland put on 154-8.In response, Ireland’s Jai Moondra dismissed India openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for golden ducks in his first over, with the visitors reduced to 35-4.
𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐍! ☘️
Ireland defeat India to seal the T20I series in Belfast. What a week!#BackingGreen | #IREvIND | #FailteSolar pic.twitter.com/wCflYEfbRu
— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) June 28, 2026Moondra and Matthew Hollard were the stars of Ireland’s bowling attack, taking three wickets each, but a late charge from India saw them set up a grandstand finish in which they required eight runs off the final two balls to win.
Harshit Rana, attempting to hit a six, was caught by Tim Tector off the bowling of his brother Harry, meaning that Prince Yadav’s six off the final ball left India one run short of a draw.Moondra, a debutant for Ireland, was named player of the match and player of the series. Born in India, he moved to Dublin to study in 2021.The 29-year-old and Hollard were both selected after injuries to key players Mark Adair, Curtis Campher and Josh Little.India had included 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in their squad for the tour, but he was not selected for what would have been a record-breaking international debut.It completes an incredible three days of cricket for Ireland, who won their first-ever match at the Women’s T20 World Cup on Saturday against West Indies.“An incredible weekend. It still doesn’t feel real,” Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker told TNT Sports after the game. “We are no longer in the shadows of international cricket, we have exploded onto the scene over these two games.“We have competition for places now and it is a wonderful time to be a cricket player in Ireland.”India captain Shreyas Iyer told TNT Sports: “It has been a tough weekend for us but we cannot have any complaints. Ireland were great and I think they did the basics better than us.“It has been an honour to play here and a massive congratulations to Ireland.”
