India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl against Ireland in the second and final T20I at Belfast, hoping to level the two-match series after a shocking defeat in the opener.
The suspense over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s debut ended as he remained on the bench, while Prince Yadav and Suryansh Shedge earned their maiden India caps. The duo replaced Washington Sundar and Prasidh Krishna in the playing XI.
India lost the first match by 34 runs, marking Ireland’s first-ever T20I win over the Men in Blue. Lorcan Tucker’s half-century powered Ireland to 183, while Abhishek Sharma’s 50 was the only notable contribution for India.
With rain predicted in Belfast, Iyer said he opted to bowl to take advantage of possible interruptions. “It can rain anytime,” he remarked at the toss. A shortened game could alter the target if conditions worsen.
India’s lineup features Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and debutants Prince Yadav and Suryansh Shedge. Ireland fields Lorcan Tucker, Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, and others.
The match is crucial for India’s pride, as a defeat would hand Ireland their first-ever T20I series win against India.
Squads:
India: Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Suryansh Shedge, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prince Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi
Ireland: Lorcan Tucker (Captain), Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Benjamin Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Liam McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys, Jai Moondra, Matthew Hollard, Stephen Doheny, Reuben Wilson, Gavin Hoey
