Ireland T20I: Shreyas Iyer’s India hope to beat batting blues after shock loss

The embarrassing 34-run defeat to Ireland, their first loss in history, was not the kind of start Shreyas Iyer was looking for to kickstart his innings as India’s new T20I captain. The Men in Blue will hence be keen to avert another batting meltdown when they take on the hosts in the second and final match of the series in Belfast on Sunday.

The reigning T20 World Cup champions, who had been in an irresistible form in this format for two years now, caved in for 148 in chasing 183 in somewhat helpful conditions for the seamers.  With a high profile five-match T20 series against England beginning at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday, Iyer and coach Gautam Gambhir would be eager for a quick turnaround to sign off their brief Irish tour on a winning note.

A look at Friday’s batting card of India shows that the biggest area of concern from the opening game was India’s batting collapse. Sanju Samson, their World T20 hero three months back, lasted just four balls before becoming debutant Jai Moondra’s maiden international wicket. The in-form Ishan Kishan also fell for a single-digit score inside powerplay along with the new captain, back in the T20 scheme of things after nearly three years.

Ireland’s two debutant pacers: Moondra and Matt Hollard, exposed India’s top order brilliantly with only Abhishek Sharma coming good with a characteristic half century. The team management, however, is unlikely to press the panic button after one defeat and chances are that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who was anticipated to make his international debut in the opener, is expected to remain on the sidelines again as India are unlikely to tinker top order after one defeat.

The bowling unit, on the other hand, offered several positives. Harshit Rana made an impressive comeback after a four-month layoff due to a knee injury, using his variations smartly to return figures of 3/24. Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel also bowled well, especially at the death.

However, Iyer’s decision to pack his pace attack left India short of options in the closing overs. Washington Sundar leaked 19 runs in the 16th over before Prasidh Krishna endured another forgettable outing, conceding 27 in the 17th and finishing with 0/57. Those expensive overs allowed Ireland to add around 20-30 crucial runs, which eventually proved decisive. Ireland's innings on the other hand, was built around captain Lorcan Tucker’s composed half-century.