Tilak VarmaA back-to-back century was one of the few positives in India’s win over Ireland in the second T20I on Sunday, but the left-hander found himself on the unnecessary list after registering one of his slowest fifties against India in T20 Internationals.With India in dire straits after the collapse of the top order, Tilak reached his fifty in 45 deliveries in a run of 155 at Stormont. The knock is now tied as the sixth-lowest T20I fifty by an Indian and stands as the slowest century by an Indian against Ireland along the way.India’s lowest T20I 50s (with balls)56 KL Rahul against SA Trivandrum 202254 G Gambhir vs Aus Melbourne 201249 SK Yadav vs USA New York 202448 V Kohli vs SA Bridgetown 202445 V Kohli vs Pak Dubai 202145 T Varma vs Ireland Belfast 2026 *However, things were not normal. India was rocked at the opening ceremony when cricketer developer Jai Moondra, who hails from Tonk in Rajasthan and still holds an Indian passport, was sacked. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for the first ducks the ball before removing the captain Shreyas Iyer leaving the visitors reeling.India slumped to 35 for 4 in the Powerplay after that Ishan Kishan he was dismissed, leaving Tilak with the task of rebuilding the innings on top delivery, a seamless bounce in the chase.Unlike several of his colleagues who tried to conform to the status quo, Tilak adopted a more patient approach, yielding to pressure before engaging with Axar Patel. He later brought up his fifty by launching Matthew Hollard at midwicket in the first six of India’s innings.However, the event was short-lived. Attempting to attack again on the next ball, Tilak mistimed the run up to extra cover and took off for 55 runs in 46 overs, ending India’s best hopes of completing the chase.Harshit Rana’s late arrival with 21 from 10 balls briefly revived India’s hopes, but Ireland held on to restrict India to 153 for 9, sealing a comfortable victory and completing a historic 2-0 series lead in the reigning T20 World Cup.The defeat also ended India’s 16th consecutive T20I win since 2023, while Ireland celebrated their first T20I win over India.
