Ireland finally did what it had been waiting for for years. The Indian team, which had won the T20 World Cup twice in a row, was defeated by Ireland by 34 runs without much trouble even against strong teams. Team India, which entered this format about 3 and a half months after becoming the T20 World Champion, suffered a shocking defeat in the very first match. But what happened on the ground in Belfast was not the first time, rather Team India had already seen such a reversal two years ago after becoming the World Champion.
Team India won the T20 World Cup 2026 title on March 9 under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav. This was the second consecutive time and the third time in total, when Team India had lifted the biggest trophy of the shortest format. Team India was away from the field since this title win because IPL 2026 was being played. After that, the Indian team returned to this format with the tour of Ireland, where it got a new captain in the form of Shreyas Iyer.
But this very first match proved to be shocking for Team India because host Ireland surprised the entire cricket world by defeating Team India by 34 runs on the ground of Belfast. This is Ireland’s first win over India in 9 T20s. This defeat of Team India brought back memories of exactly two years ago, when Team India, which became the T20 World Champion, had to face defeat in the very first match. Even at that time, the Indian team had taken the field under the leadership of a new captain.
The very first match after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, India lost to Zimbabwe in T20Is.
The very first match after winning the 2026 T20 World Cup, India lost to Ireland in T20Is.
—Sarah Waris (@swaris16) June 26, 2026
Just a few days after winning the T20 World Cup in 2024 under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, Team India played the first round against Zimbabwe. Rohit Sharma then retired from this format, while many senior players were given rest. In such a situation, for the first time Shubman Gill was given the command of the team. But when the Indian team came to play its first match under his captaincy, it lost the match by 13 runs.
That means, after becoming the world champion, this story of defeat in the very first match against a new captain and a smaller team is no longer new for Team India. There is a big difference between the tour of Ireland just 2 years ago and now. Then Team India made a comeback in the 5-match series and won 4-1. This time there is no such situation because there are only 2 matches in the series. So far from winning, the team is facing the challenge of making it a draw. Also, Team India got that defeat due to the absence of its star players. This time, along with the permanent captain, most of the players in the team were from the world champion team. Therefore, this is more serious and stinging than that defeat.
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