India seek retribution against Ireland in must-win battle in Belfast
Shreyas Iyer-led India will be hitting the pitch again as they lock horns against Ireland in what is going to be a must-win clash to save the two-match T20I series before they head to England. Belfast will once again be the epicenter of what could be an epic battle after a massive upset in the series-opener.
India’s batting had no answer to the hosts' wily bowling flair. Apart from Abhishek Sharma and Shivam Dube, the rest of the Indian batters succumbed to Ireland, leading the Men in Blue to suffer a shock defeat. Now with a defeat in the first game, one of the most obvious questions is whether India should bring Vaibhav Sooryavanshi into the mix?
The Indian bowlers got off to a great start with Harshit Rana leading the charge but they failed to capitalize, and Ireland successfully steadied the ship. Ireland, on the contrary, will be hopeful of fixing their top-order and hope that their steady middle order, comprising the likes of Lorcan Tucker, Gareth Delany and George Dockerell once again pulls off their magic.
Venue Watch:
The surface has been naturally slow with the ball sticking to it. One would expect the batters to be watchful in the early stages of the game. As the game progresses, spinners will eventually come into the picture, warranting a modest-scoring thriller to decide the fate of the series.
Match detail:
Match: Ireland vs India, 2nd T20I
Venue: Stormont Cricket Ground, Belfast
Date: 28th June, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM
Head-to-head:
Matches played: 9
India: 8
Ireland: 1
Squads:
India:
Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Ireland:
Lorcan Tucker (c), Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Matthew Humphreys, Gavin Hoey, Matthew Hollard, Liam McCarthy, Jai Moondra, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Reuben Wilson.
