India won the toss and elected to bowl first in the 1st T20I of the 2026 series in Belfast.
Live stream starts at match time onJune 26
INFO
Match
IRE vs IND • 1st T20I • India tour of Ireland, 2026
Series
India tour of Ireland 2026
No Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for India today, but he’ll probably get his opportunity at some point on what is a long tour. Meanwhile, Harshit Rana makes a return after completing his recovery from knee surgery. The visitors have also gone in with both the fingerspinning-allrounders, leaving out Ravi Bishnoi. For Ireland, Indian-born Jai Moondra and Matt Hollard – both pacers – make their debuts. With all the injuries in their camp, there’s very little experience in their bowling attack.
Arshdeep Singh: [On the team’s preparations and adapting to the conditions ahead of the series] Preparation has been good, brother. We’re used to the conditions. The boys had a pretty long practice session yesterday, and we adapted according to how the wickets were in the nets. We looked at what will work best, what lengths will be helpful, what shots the batters can play, and also the dimensions of the ground, and the way the wind is blowing. We’ll adapt quickly according to all of that and try to bring a good result. [On the key adjustments after playing in Indian conditions over the last few months] For me, this will be a different wicket, the ground dimensions will be different, and it’s a different opposition. You don’t play against this opposition very often, so you’ll have to adapt very quickly. You can’t be surprised. You always have to stay on your toes because the opposition can play in any manner at any time. It’s about how quickly you can adapt, and how you can choose the best options. Before the opposition does, you have to adapt to the conditions and execute your plans. [On personal or team targets for the seven-match tour] Personally, there’s nothing like that, and there’s no such specific goal for the team either. Back our process – the way we’ve been doing things over the last two years, the way the Indian team has played over the last four years. Back our standards, play according to those standards, and the results will come on their own. (Translated from Hindi)
Matthew Humphreys [On the opportunity to face the reigning world champions] It’s really exciting. They’re obviously one of the best teams in the world, and it’s not every day you get to play them on home soil. So yeah, it’s a challenge we’re really looking forward to. [On playing in front of a packed home crowd] It should be amazing. There’s a bit of a buzz around the ground already. I’m not sure how many of them will be supporting us, but yeah, it’d be good fun to play in front of a big crowd. [On the leadership of new captain Lorcan Tucker] Yeah, Lorcan’s amazing. His demeanor is great, and he’s a great guy around the group, and everyone gets on really well with him. So yeah, looking forward to seeing what he has to offer in the leadership capacity. [On the key to making an impact against India] I think it’s sort of sticking to the plans we’ve come up with over the last three years. And yeah, just belief more than anything else. I think there’s a bit of research gone into sort of some of their batters and some plans for some of their guys. They’re obviously a pretty explosive batting unit, so trying to contain them will be a big part of it. And yeah, I think it’s just believing in what we’ve put in over the last few years and enjoying it out there.
Oldest at the time of India T20I captaincy debut
35y 232d Shikhar Dhawan
33y 70d Suryakumar Yadav
31y 202d Shreyas Iyer *
30y 234d Rohit Sharma
30y 143d KL Rahul
Leading in most T20s at the time of India T20I captaincy debut
114 Shreyas Iyer
80 Rohit Sharma
72 Virat Kohli
42 KL Rahul
30 Rishabh Pant
21 Shikhar Dhawan
Teams:
Ireland (Playing XI): Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker(w/c), Benjamin Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Liam McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys, Jai Moondra, Matthew Hollard
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
Tucker | Ireland captain: Would’ve bowled. Looks a really good pitch. [On taking over the captaincy from Paul Stirling] I think it was a natural transition. I think Stirlo had led beautifully for the past couple of years. Very happy to have been in behind him for those couple of years. I feel like I learned a lot from him. He’s so experienced, such a brilliant T20 player. So I feel like I’m in a good place now to lead the group myself. [On opportunities for younger players with several senior players unavailable through injury] I think it gives our lads great opportunity. We have Jai Moondra and Matt Hollard making their debut today, so hopefully they can make a big impact. [On the two debutants] Jai’s a new ball bowler. I think he swings it up top. He has had good success in domestic cricket. Matty’s a bit of a basher and a wicket-taker, really. [On playing India at home in front of a full house] They’re pretty special games, these, playing India at home. I think they’re the biggest crowds we get. Full house here today, and hopefully there will be lads rolling in behind us as well.
Iyer | India captain: [On winning the toss and choosing to field first] We’re going to field first. It looks a good pitch. Yeah, it’s a new surface for us, and it’s the first time, and the majority of us haven’t played over here. So, considering the conditions, the environment, and also the wicket, we have decided to field first. [On returning to Ireland and Gautam Gambhir’s message to the team] Honestly speaking, he’s just asked all the players to be themselves and be relentless in the approach, ruthless. And there are so many other adverbs which I could put in over here. But, you know, it comes from the experience, and the majority of us, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s our first time over here. So we need to get accustomed to the conditions as well as quickly as possible. And we’ve got a tremendous session yesterday. So, boys are looking in great shape and good form. [On beginning the campaign to defend India’s World Cup title] Absolutely. You know, we’re going to take one match at a time, and that’s the eventual goal. But right now, it’s over here, in Ireland, playing against Ireland, and get the best out of each other. [On his captaincy philosophy] I always keep saying that you don’t have to complicate things. Keep it as simple as possible. When I say that, you just need to be in the present and not think much about or dwell into past or future. If you’re there in the moment and you’re enjoying the game, that’s all is required from each one. (Vaibhav playing?) Unfortunately, no. He’s a gun player. But obviously, we’ve got tremendous experience in the squad who have done brilliant in the past couple of series for India. So we are backing majority of our cricketers who have been doing absolutely marvellous throughout the season. So I think he’outside the leg-stump get his opportunity when the time comes. But for now, we are going with three genuine seamers, one all-rounder, and two spinners.
India have won the toss and have opted to field
The timings of these two matches have been kept one hour earlier than usual in order to partially avoid an overlap with the India-Australia Women’s World Cup clash at Lord’s. Iyer is out there for the toss which is just a couple of minutes away…
So let’s get to the question everyone has on their minds: will we see Sooryavanshi in action today? He has not just taken India, but the entire world by storm. Everyone wants a piece of him after his staggering exploits in the IPL and every other tournament he has been a part of. However, we’re talking about an Indian team that’s shattered all kinds of records enroute back-to-back World Cup wins. “I am sure that he will get his dues and his opportunities. So I don’t think that just to give him an opportunity, we should drop someone who has already been scoring runs. That also won’t be right,” batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said on match eve.
What a ride it has been for Shreyas Iyer who has played 51 T20Is, the last of which came in December 2023 before India won their two World Cup titles. His stock has risen greatly over the last couple of years where he took KKR to the IPL title in 2024 and then turned around the fortunes for Punjab Kings. Now once again he joins hands with Gambhir who was the KKR mentor in 2024. Actually, the two of them go a long way back. It was in 2018 when an out-of-form Gambhir stepped down as Delhi Daredevils captain and backed Iyer for the job. Has been some journey…
Ireland have a new T20I captain as well, with Lorcan Tucker taking over from Paul Stirling who stepped down after the T20 World Cup. The hosts are currently hampered by injuries to multiple players (Stirling, Adair, Campher, Little, Barry McCarthy and Neill), and they’ve got three uncapped bowlers in the squad of 14. Ireland were eliminated in the Group Stages of the World Cup earlier this year and the challenge ahead of Tucker is to build for the next tournament in 2028.
12:25 Local Time, 11:25 GMT, 16:55 IST: Hello and welcome to our coverage of a series that kicks off a new era for both India and Ireland. Never before in the history of cricket has a World Cup winning captain been dropped for the following series. Yet India have done exactly that with Suryakumar Yadav. And they’ve replaced him with Shreyas Iyer who last played a T20I over two and a half years ago. But that may not even be the biggest talking point for millions watching around the world. Their eyes might instead be on whether 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi makes his debut, which would make him the youngest player to do so in T20Is. Stay tuned as we build up to this first match in Belfast.
Preview
More than three months after successfully defending their T20 World Cup crown, India embark upon a new cycle with a tour of the UK, that commences with a two-match series against Ireland in Belfast. While T20s are likely to take a backseat in a year leading into the ODI World Cup, there is no shortage to either the volume of games in the format, or talking points.
Both India and Ireland arrive with new captains at the helm and yet the buzz is elsewhere, with attention primarily centered around Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s first international tour. The 15-year old teen wonder receiving his cap appears a matter of when and not if, but there is a ‘will he, won’t he’ intrigue ahead of the opener considering India’s settled top-order that needs no tinkering after a successful World Cup campaign.
Slipping into the background is the fact that Suryakumar Yadav has been dropped after underwhelming batting returns, with India ushering in a new era under Shreyas Iyer. While there is little doubt over Shreyas’ leadership credentials following his exploits in the IPL, he would want to make an instant impression with the bat on this sojourn considering his last appearance in this format for India dates back to December 2023. From a captaincy standpoint, it helps that the squad wears a largely settled look with the notable absentees being Jasprit Bumrah (rested) and Hardik Pandya (rested and eventually injured).
There is a change of guard in the Irish ranks too with Lorcan Tucker taking over full-time from Paul Stirling, who is out of this series with an injury. Cricket’s perennial giant-killers have promised plenty without delivering tangible consistency and it doesn’t help that they have been plagued by a host of injuries. This is the third time that they’re hosting India since 2022 and they certainly aren’t oblivious as far as knowledge of the opposition is concerned. But the Indian team they are up against is one that has made a habit of smashing records and pushing the ceiling of a safe total in the format.
0.6
6
Arshdeep Singh to Tim Tector, SIX, to deep mid-wicket
0.5
Arshdeep Singh to Ross Adair, 3 runs, to deep mid-wicket
0.5
Arshdeep Singh to Ross Adair, 2 runs, to deep mid-wicket
0.4
Arshdeep Singh to Ross Adair, no run, seaming away with extra bounce in the fourth stump channel, Adair looks to hack leg-side and gets beaten by the extra bounce
0.3
Arshdeep Singh to Ross Adair, no run, beauty! Extra bounce and late away movement just outside off, lures Adair into a poke and rips it past the outside-edge
0.2
Arshdeep Singh to Tim Tector, 1 run, superb stop from Tilak at extra cover. It was a tad fuller from Arshdeep Singh and Tector drove it to the right of Tilak whose diving stop keeps it down to a single
Date
Today
Time
1:30 PM LOCAL, 12:30 PM GMT, 5:30 AM PT, 8:30 AM ET
Toss
India won the toss and opt to Bowl
Venue
Civil Service Cricket Club
Belfast
FACTS
Opened
1949
Capacity
6000 approx
Ends
Dundonald, City
Location
Belfast, Ireland
Time Zone
UTC +01:00
1.5
W
Harshit Rana to Ross Adair, out Caught by Sanju Samson!! Gee. Where did that go? Ross Adair c Sanju Samson b Harshit Rana 12(7) [4s-2]
Harshit Rana to Ross Adair, THATS OUT!! Caught!!
1.4
Harshit Rana to Tim Tector, 1 run, 139ks fuller on the stumps, Tector nudges the drive wide of mid-on and hurries across for a quick single
1.3
Harshit Rana to Ross Adair, 1 run, heaves the length delivery to the left of mid-wicket and a diving stop keeps it down to a single
1.2
4
Harshit Rana to Ross Adair, FOUR, banged in short outside off, Adair pulls and places it in the gap to the right of mid-wicket. Once again and placement has been superb from Ireland
1.1
4
Harshit Rana to Ross Adair, FOUR, makes room on the off-side and throws the kitchen sink at a short and wide delivery, thick top-edge and it flies over the leaping left hand of slip
Harshit Rana, right-arm fast medium, comes into the attack
Over 1
10-0
010036(10 runs)
We are all set for the play to begin. Arshdeep to get us under way with a slip in place…
Tim Tector and Ross Adair are at the crease. Tim Tector is on strike. Arshdeep Singh will open the attack
We are done with the anthems. It’s quite murky out there as the players get ready for ball-rolling action. Arshdeep to get us under way
No Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for India today, but he’ll probably get his opportunity at some point on what is a long tour. Meanwhile, Harshit Rana makes a return after completing his recovery from knee surgery. The visitors have also gone in with both the fingerspinning-allrounders, leaving out Ravi Bishnoi. For Ireland, Indian-born Jai Moondra and Matt Hollard – both pacers – make their debuts. With all the injuries in their camp, there’s very little experience in their bowling attack.
Arshdeep Singh: [On the team’s preparations and adapting to the conditions ahead of the series] Preparation has been good, brother. We’re used to the conditions. The boys had a pretty long practice session yesterday, and we adapted according to how the wickets were in the nets. We looked at what will work best, what lengths will be helpful, what shots the batters can play, and also the dimensions of the ground, and the way the wind is blowing. We’ll adapt quickly according to all of that and try to bring a good result. [On the key adjustments after playing in Indian conditions over the last few months] For me, this will be a different wicket, the ground dimensions will be different, and it’s a different opposition. You don’t play against this opposition very often, so you’ll have to adapt very quickly. You can’t be surprised. You always have to stay on your toes because the opposition can play in any manner at any time. It’s about how quickly you can adapt, and how you can choose the best options. Before the opposition does, you have to adapt to the conditions and execute your plans. [On personal or team targets for the seven-match tour] Personally, there’s nothing like that, and there’s no such specific goal for the team either. Back our process – the way we’ve been doing things over the last two years, the way the Indian team has played over the last four years. Back our standards, play according to those standards, and the results will come on their own. (Translated from Hindi)
Matthew Humphreys [On the opportunity to face the reigning world champions] It’s really exciting. They’re obviously one of the best teams in the world, and it’s not every day you get to play them on home soil. So yeah, it’s a challenge we’re really looking forward to. [On playing in front of a packed home crowd] It should be amazing. There’s a bit of a buzz around the ground already. I’m not sure how many of them will be supporting us, but yeah, it’d be good fun to play in front of a big crowd. [On the leadership of new captain Lorcan Tucker] Yeah, Lorcan’s amazing. His demeanor is great, and he’s a great guy around the group, and everyone gets on really well with him. So yeah, looking forward to seeing what he has to offer in the leadership capacity. [On the key to making an impact against India] I think it’s sort of sticking to the plans we’ve come up with over the last three years. And yeah, just belief more than anything else. I think there’s a bit of research gone into sort of some of their batters and some plans for some of their guys. They’re obviously a pretty explosive batting unit, so trying to contain them will be a big part of it. And yeah, I think it’s just believing in what we’ve put in over the last few years and enjoying it out there.
