New Delhi: India opener Abhishek Sharma admitted that his team failed to turn things around after Ireland stunned their T20 World Cup champions by 34 runs in the first T20I in Belfast on Friday.Despite scoring a century, Abhishek could not prevent India from getting their first defeat against Ireland in any way. The loss also marked a disappointing start Shreyas IyerThe captain as Ireland took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.‘We have to adapt quickly’Abhishek said adapting to the fast pace is important, especially when teams have less time between games.“It’s how we change things quickly, it’s important as a team, because when you play a back-to-back game, as a team you have to move forward and adapt to what it is, every time you practice or adapt, I think as a dominant team, you have to change quickly and that’s what we tried today, but unfortunately he told the media after the game,” Sharma told reporters.Ireland made historyIreland posted a challenging 182/9 after captain Lorcan Tucker led a well-crafted innings. Gareth Delany added 49, while George Dockrell provided a late brace to lift the hosts into a strong position.Harshit Rana was India’s best bowler with 3/24, while Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel claimed two wickets each.Abhishek shines, India fallsChasing 183, India got off to a flying start as Abhishek attacked from the start. He hammered seven sevens and sixes to make his fifty in just 19 balls before smashing his 50 in just 20 overs.However, the wickets were all around him. Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and captain Shreyas Iyer all failed to make the cut, while Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel failed to form a partnership.Shivam Dube briefly revived India’s hopes with a quick 25 off 16 balls, but his dismissal ended any chance of a comeback. India were eventually bowled out for 148 in 18.5 overs.Matthew Hollard and Matthew Humphreys took three wickets each for Ireland, while Jai Moondra started to impress with figures of 2/25.Series on lineThe two teams meet again in the second and final T20I on Sunday, with India needing a win to avoid another defeat after their historic win over Ireland.
