Jai Moondra Had Prepared For Vaibhav Sooryavanshi; Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson Came Out Of Syllabus

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Jai Moondra [Source: AFP]

India-born Jai Moondra came up clutch for Ireland in their two-match home T20I series against Team India. In the series-decider in Belfast on Sunday, June 28, the speedster picked up the prized scalps of Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson for first-ball ducks, and knocked over visiting captain Shreyas Iyer to bag sensational figures of 3-32. 

Moondra not only clinched the ‘Player of the Match’ award, but also won the ‘Player of the Series’ after Ireland’s historic 2-0 series sweep over the reigning T20 World Champions. 

It is worth noting that the 29-year-old fast bowler had prepared to tackle India’s rising star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for the two-match series. However, with Sooryavanshi failing to make his debut, the speedster found success against other Indian batters like Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer instead, at least as per his India-based coach Mohan Singh. 

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While speaking with the Times of India, former Rajasthan cricketer and Jai Moondra’s ex-coach Mohan Singh stated that the Ireland speedster initially prepared to tackle Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. 

However, since Vaibhav did not receive a chance in the Indian playing XI in any of the two games, Moondra’s preparations paid off against the likes of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Indian captain Shreyas Iyer instead.

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Mohan Singh said “His main plan was against Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Vaibhav eventually didn't play, but Moondra had prepared so thoroughly that the hard work still paid off. He dismissed Sanju Samson twice and also took the wickets of Abhishek Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube. The boy has put in a lot of effort, and these results are simply the reward for that hard work.”

Mohan Singh also added that Moondra once impressed India great VVS Laxman when the speedster joined the Bengal team as a net bowler during the 2019-20 Indian domestic season. Laxman served as the batting consultant of the Bengal team at the time. 

He added “Jai impressed VVS Laxman, who was the batting consultant with the Bengal team. Arun Lal loved his bowling and Manoj Tiwary also showered praise on him.”

Jai Moondra blitz through Vaibhav Sooryavanshi-less India batting line-up

Jai Moondra was handed his debut international cap for Ireland prior to the series-opening first T20I against world champions and his home nation, India. With Vaibhav Sooryavanshi not in the team, Moondra showed no first-game jitters and delivered tight figures of 2-25 from his four overs with the wickets of Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube as Ireland won the match by 34 runs.

Moondra picked up another three in the second game as Ireland overcame India by a run in Belfast to seal the two-match series 2-0. The left-arm quick finished the series with five wickets at an impressive average of 11.40.

Moondra’s journey from Tonk to Leinster, and to Ireland team

While Jai Moondra started off his cricketing journey in India itself, he received his first major break in Ireland for the Leinster Lightning team. It is worth noting that the Rajasthan-born talent moved to Ireland to pursue a master’s degree at the Technological University Dublin, before finding a place in the Leinster Cricket Club. 

Before making his international debut, the cricketer played a handful of domestic matches for Leinster. As of now, it appears that Jai Moondra has firmly established himself as one of Ireland's brightest pace prospects. 

Following a dream debut series against India, the left-arm quick will be aiming to cement his place in the national setup and build on the remarkable start to his international career.

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