​India’s bid to level the T20I series against Ireland began in disaster in Belfast on Sunday as both openers, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, were dismissed for golden ducks in the very first over, setting an unwanted record. Jai Moondra struck twice in the opening over, sending Samson and Abhishek back on the first ball they faced. This marked only the second time in T20I history among Full Member nations that both opening batsmen were out for a first-ball duck in the same innings; the only prior instance occurred in 2018 when Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar did so against the West Indies in Basseterre.
The collapse did not stop there. Moondra struck again in the third over to remove captain Shreyas Iyer, and Ishan Kishan was run out in the fifth over as India slumped to four wickets down inside the powerplay while chasing 155.
The innings also added to Abhishek Sharma’s troubling year, marking his sixth T20I duck in the 2026 calendar year, leaving him just one behind Pakistan’s Saim Ayub, who tops the calendar-year duck list among Full Member nations with seven; Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava had six ducks in 2024. This was the third time India’s opening pair had been dismissed for ducks in a T20I innings, previously seen against Pakistan in Mirpur in 2016 (Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane) and against South Africa in Gqeberha in 2023 (Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal).
Earlier, India had restricted Ireland to 154 for 8 after deciding to bowl first. The pace trio of Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and debutant Prince Yadav shared early breakthroughs to reduce Ireland to 48 for 3 after eight overs. Harry Tector, playing his 100th T20I, anchored Ireland with 53 off 47 balls, forging a 65-run stand with Ben Calitz, who contributed 37 off 23. Shivam Dube then swung the momentum back for India by taking two wickets in successive deliveries in the 15th over.
India handed T20I debuts to batting all-rounder Suryansh Shedge and fast bowler Prince Yadav, while 15-year-old batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi missed out on a place in the playing XI. Having suffered a historic 34-run defeat in the opening game—Ireland’s first-ever win over India in international cricket—the visitors aimed to rebound in the series.