Perhaps, the greatest weekend in Irish cricket. On Friday, the Men's team registered their first ever win against India. On Saturday, the Women's team, after 21 losses, clinched victory for the first time at the T20 World Cup. On Sunday, Lorcan Tucker and co. have whitewashed the World Champions.
For the Indian fans, this Sunday has brought two heartbreaks. Shreyas Iyer's troops went down again in Belfast, while the Women's team got knocked out of the World Cup after losing to Australia in London. But well, the sun shall rise again.
We hope you enjoyed our coverage. Time for the quartet of Darpan Tikiya, AkshayaKrisha Polya, Aman and Paras Yadav to sign off. Keep following CREX for more cricketing action from around the globe. See you soon!
TRIVIA: The last time India lost two consecutive T20Is was against West Indies in August 2023 – their previous T20I series defeat.
Whitewashes suffered by India in Men's T20I series (minimum two matches)
0–2 vs New Zealand (2009)
0–2 vs South Africa (2015)
0–2 vs Australia (2019)
0–2 vs Ireland (2026)*
Most Consecutive T20I Series Win
12 - India (2024-26) (Streak End Today)*
11 - Pakistan (2016-2019)
7 - India (2017-2018)
Lorcan Tucker receives the Trophy! The crowd go bonkers! The Irish players pose for the photograph standing behind the Champions Board. The celebrations begin in Belfast.
Lorcan Tucker (Ireland Captain): "[Wow!] Yeah, yeah... I can't quite believe it. Absolutely incredible. Challenged the lads the other day to show the world that it wasn't a one-off win and that we could do it again, and we were able to do it again.
[On the back-to-back wins and not getting carried away after the win in the first T20I] Yeah, I know. I think we were obviously on a massive high the other night, but I think I challenged the lads to try and, you know, fall down from those clouds, get back to the real world, and put in a performance, do their recovery yesterday. I think we rocked up with that same intent. I felt like we were professional, we were diligent in the work we did, and we showed that again today.
[That was a completely different performance from the attitude point of view] It felt like we were able to close the game out. I think we showed that good cricket can be simple cricket, and it doesn’t always have to be that complicated, especially when you read the conditions well, that you can be effective and you can win games of cricket.
[Ireland Cricket will now cry out for competitions for places, and you got that now] Yeah. Sometimes it feels like we play in the shadows of international cricket, but I think we will be front page news after this, and that will be so, it’s absolutely amazing.
[On the newcomers and the power in the middle order] We have a lot of lads there who have very few caps between them, but I think they just showed that they do the work in the background, they know their own games well. Even when they come to the big stage like this, they can show up, and they can perform, and we can beat the world’s best.
[On the crowd support] Absolutely. I think I said it before the first game that we’re so lucky to have these games against India. I think they’re the most special, the crowd’s absolutely amazing, so very lucky to have it, and we’d love to have it again.
[On whether this is the most exciting period in Irish cricket. Women's team won their first game in the T20 World Cup, Men's Team won against India, the ETPL is coming up, and a new stadium is being built] Absolutely. It's a great time to be a professional cricketer in Ireland, and even for all those kids who came to watch today, watched on TV, we hope we’ve given them something to strive for."
Shreyas Iyer became only the second India captain to lose each of his first two T20Is in charge, after Rishabh Pant.
Hitting the first ball in T20I career for a six (India):
Suryakumar Yadav off Jofra Archer, Ahmedabad, 2021
Ramandeep Singh off Andile Simelane, Centurion, 2024
Prince Yadav off Harry Tector, Belfast, 2026, Today*
Narrowest Defeats for India in T20Is (by Runs)
1 vs New Zealand, Chennai, 2012
1 vs West Indies, Lauderhill, 2016 1 vs Ireland, Belfast, 2026, Today*