India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted he was surprised after India lost the two-match T20I series 2-0 against Ireland in Belfast. The defeat ended India’s 16-series unbeaten run in T20I cricket. Ireland sealed the series with a thrilling one-run victory in the second T20I at Stormont on June 28.
India failed to chase 155 and finished on 153 for 9 in 20 overs. Jai Moondra starred for Ireland with figures of 3 for 32. He finished the series with five wickets and won the Player of the Series award. Despite winning both tosses, India could not make the most of the advantage.
Ryan ten Doeschate says India must adapt faster after Ireland outplay the world champions
Speaking after the match, ten Doeschate admitted that Ireland deserved the victory. He said, “There’s a little bit of disbelief. It’s also very hard to be critical of guys who have just won a World Cup. We’ve been outdone or outsmarted by a team who just did the basics very well.”
The former Netherlands all-rounder said India’s bowlers made better adjustments in the second match. However, he felt the batters were unable to change their approach according to the conditions.
He explained, “That [not getting hit down the ground] was the central focus of our discussion, particularly for the second game. I thought we adjusted really well as a bowling unit today. I thought we bowled a lot smarter and that probably reflected in the score that they got on the board today, but again with the ball they were fantastic. I don’t think there was one ball pitched up from the seamers and their spinners, and again it was reflected in the economy rates. We need to learn from that. We need to adapt quicker. It is something we spoke about but, again, without being overcritical, we want the boys to make those adjustments a lot quicker.”
Ten Doeschate also praised Ireland for their smart cricket throughout the series. He said, “I wouldn’t even say we had two bad days. I thought the Irish were fantastic over both days. Not a razzmatazz 240, 250 type of cricket. They [were] smart enough to navigate their way to two good scores. I mean we won both tosses as well. I’m pretty chuffed for them.”
India will now look to bounce back when they begin a five-match T20I series against England on July 1 at Chester-le-Street.
