Ireland stun India with first ever win and T20 series sweep

Ireland sealed a one-run win over India at Stormont to complete a 2-0 T20 series sweep and claim their first-ever victory over India in any format. The result, achieved at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast, ended India’s unbeaten run in bilateral T20 series after 16 straight series and nearly three years.

Ireland’s second straight win was built on a tight defence of 154 for 8. Harry Tector anchored the innings with 53, while Jai Moondra struck twice in the lower stages of the match on his way to 3 for 32. India pushed the chase to the final ball but finished on 153 for 9, one run short, even after Tilak Varma made 55 to keep the visitors alive deep into the innings.

The sweep came two days after Ireland’s 34-run victory in the first T20I at the same venue on Friday, June 26, 2026. That match was Ireland’s first win over India in their 20th meeting across all formats, including nine T20 internationals, and it immediately turned a home series into a landmark upset. Ireland’s pace attack and a composed lower-order effort gave the hosts control in both games, while India, fielding a near first-choice side, could not convert its experience into results.

For India, the defeat opened a new T20I chapter on a bruising note under Shreyas Iyer and raised immediate questions about depth and balance in a format where the team had been dominant in bilateral series. The absence of a senior international debut for 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also stood out, underscoring how little room there was to experiment once Ireland’s bowlers tightened their grip.

For Ireland, the double victory carried more than the weight of a summer series. Beating the reigning T20 world champions twice in Belfast, and doing so by 34 runs and then by one run, pushed the team into territory it had never reached before against India. The gap in international cricket did not disappear in two nights at Stormont, but the result showed Ireland can punish a heavyweight side that loses control for even a short spell.