Shivam Dube dropped a catch off Arshdeep's bowling. PC- Screengrab
In the highly anticipated fixture between India and Ireland, the visitors elected to bowl first in the first T20I at Belfast on Friday evening. The Men in Blue has started with a bang, but it could have been better if not for Shivam Dube's crime.
Bowling first, in the windy condition, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana started beautifully against an under-cooked Ireland batting. As the two new-ball bowlers got movement in the air, both the young guns became literally unplayable.
Rana provided India its maiden blood, before getting one more wicket. However, Rana backed his partner with a major scalp after getting things against him in his second over of the match.
As a result, the Shreyas Iyer-led side bagged three wickets inside the powerplay, but it could have been four if not for the birthday boy, Shivam Dube.
Shivam Dube drops dolly off Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh bowled marvellously as ge got his gases going from the word go. In his second over of the opening spell, the left-arm quick made Tim Tector miscue the ball uppishly towards deep mid wicket.
Shivam Dube, at mid-on, backpedalled towards the fence at deep mid wicket position, while keeping his eyes on the ball. True to his fielding abilities, the all-rounder dropped a sitter, on his 33rd birthday, and then let the ball parry past the ropes.
The bowler, meanwhile, didn't say much to the fielder apart from giving him a small stare.
However, Arshdeep somehow redeemed himself a couple of balls later by removing Harry Tector by getting a faint nick behind to the keeper, Sanju Samson.
Watch: Shivam Dube spills a sitter; Arshdeep's reaction says it all
Arshdeep Singh is India's most successful in the shortest format. Debuted in 2022, he has made a place for himself in the Indian T20I setup. As a left-arm seamer, he is a rare commodity in Indian cricket.
In 85 matches, Arshdeep has picked up 128 wickets at an economy rate of 8.50. Moreover, he was one of the prime reasons for India winning the ICC T20 World Cup back-to-back in 2024 and 2026. With age by his side, he has it in him to represent his nation for another decade.
Why is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi not playing?
In other massive development, the Indian team management decided to not include the 15-year-old sensation, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, to the playing XI.
As Shreyas Iyer became the 15th Indian T20I captain, the Men in Blue decide to struck by their main batting core from the 2026 T20 World Cup win, although they had dropped the trophy-lifting skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
Nevertheless, while speaking about Sooryavanshi at the toss at IND vs IRE 1st T20I, Iyer called him a gun player and said he will get his chances, but he will have to wait for his debut.
"We have got tremendous players. We are backing majority of your players who have done marvellous job. Yes, he will get a chance. But right now, we are going with two genuine seamers, one all-rounder and two spinners," Shreyas Iyer said at the toss on Friday evening.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi having season to remember
Talking about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old kid has been in some spellbinding form since the U19 World Cup earlier this year, when he scored 175 against England in the final.
The teenager backed it with a record-shattering IPL 2026, slamming 775 runs at a strike rate of 237, taking the Rajasthan Royals to Qualifier 2 singlehandedly.
As a result, Sooryavanshi was first called to feature for India A in the Tri-Nation Series in Sri Lanka. Again, he showcased his prowess by hitting 94 runs off 29 balls in the final. Later, he also backed his maiden India call for the ongoing UK tour.
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