New Delhi: Shreyas Iyer’s first tour as India’s T20I captain ended on a disappointing note on Friday as Ireland stunned the reigning world champions by 34 runs in Belfast, sending the Mumbai batsman to an unwanted place in the record books.With the defeat, Iyer became only the fourth Indian captain to lose his maiden T20I in charge, joining a list of misfortunes that includes Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill.Kohli’s first match as a T20I captain ended in a defeat against England in Kanpur in 2017. Pant faced the same fate against South Africa in Delhi in 2022, while Gill’s captaincy debut ended in a loss to Zimbabwe in Harare in 2024. Iyer has now added his name to that list after Ireland’s historic victory.The result also marked Ireland’s first victory against India in men’s international cricket.
The Indian captains have lost their maiden T20I in charge
- Virat Kohli vs England in Kanpur 2017
- Rishabh Pant vs South Africa in Delhi 2022
- Shubman Gill vs Zimbabwe in Harare 2024
- Shreyas Iyer vs Ireland in Belfast 2026
A return to the past overshadowed by the defeat of history
Ironically, Iyer entered the game with an incredible record to his name.The 31-year-old has returned to India’s T20I squad after missing 63 consecutive matches since making his debut against Australia in December 2023 – the longest gap for any player before leading the national team in T20 internationals.His first captaincy brought two more adventures. At the age of 31 years and 202 days, he became the third senior player to make his T20I captaincy for India, behind Shikhar Dhawan and Suryakumar Yadav.Iyer also became the most experienced T20 captain before his India captaincy, having led 114 T20 matches across franchise and domestic cricket, ahead of Rohit Sharma (80), Virat Kohli (72) and KL Rahul (42).
The Irish debutants steal the show
However, the documents were little read when the project began.Asked to bat first, Ireland recovered from 51 for 4 to post 182 for 9, thanks to captain Lorcan Tucker’s 50 and Gareth Delany’s 49.India’s chase never got going despite Abhishek Sharma’s blast of 50. Ireland’s openers proved to be the difference as Indian-born left-arm pacer Jai Moondra claimed 2 for 25, while Matt Hollard impressed with 3 for 28 to start the batting slump.India were eventually bowled out for 148 with seven balls to spare, handing Ireland one of the biggest victories in their cricket history.