Shreyas Iyer, in His First Game as Captain, Snaps India’s Historic 3-Year-Old T20I Streak

World T20I champions India have been dominating T20 cricket for quite some time now. With two consecutive World Cup titles and an undefeated record stretching over two and a half years in bilaterals, the Men in Blue looked invincible until Friday.

In a new dawn of Indian cricket, decorated Indian star Shreyas Iyer has been backed by the selectors as the new captain of the Indian T20I side. Following his ground-breaking success as a captain in successive IPL seasons, he was picked to lead the Indian contingent, replacing former captain Suryakumar Yadav.

These tough calls were made by the BCCI selection panel headed by Ajit Agarkar, following an ordinary season with the bat for former captain Suryakumar Yadav, across the IPL 2026 season. Iyer, on the other hand, backed his successful season in 2025 with 498 runs this season as well.

In his first match as the captain of the Indian National Cricket T20 team, Iyer failed miserably as his team struggled to succeed in a run chase against the Irish side. The Ireland tour acts as a preparatory phase for the Men in Blue before a long summer in England.

Having won the toss, the Indian skipper opted to bowl against the home side. With Harshit Rana playing his first game after a long break due to injuries, the KKR man owned the stage with his perfect bowling figures of 3/24 in his spell of four overs. However, some uneconomical spells from Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar helped the Ireland side post a respectable 182/9.

While this looked like a piece of cake for the star-studded Indian batting lineup, the Irish had something special in store for the visitors. Despite a strong start from Abhishek Sharma, wickets kept falling from the other end. Captain Iyer, making a comeback to T20Is, was dismissed after scoring just 3 runs with the bat.

India for the first time since 2023 December, will fail to win a T20i series. pic.twitter.com/wwBXNFXdJk

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 26, 2026

The Indians were bowled out for a score of 148, hence handing a humiliating 34-run defeat in the very first game of the two-match series. After the match, Shreyas Iyer issued a strong message to the Indian dressing room.

You can’t take anything for granted. You can’t just turn up and win matches; you have to work hard and see to it that you are in that moment. And yeah, never take any situation or moment lightly.

Shreyas Iyer said in the post-match presentation

With this defeat, India ended their long-standing winning streak in T20I bilaterals. They have held onto this streak since December 2023; however, the best Iyer can manage is a tie in his first-ever bilateral as the captain of the Indian team.

Shreyas Iyer refuses to be let down by the Ireland defeat

Defeats have never taken a heavy toll on Shreyas Iyer, as he has often shown a calm attitude while embracing all criticism. Hence, despite a defeat in his first-ever match as the captain of the Indian team, he refuses to be disheartened by the loss and takes it more as a learning phase in his career.

From a seven-match undefeated streak to a six-match losing streak, Iyer had already witnessed havoc in the recently concluded season of the IPL. However, his words reflect a clear sense of confidence in his team’s ability to turn the tide.

We’re going to forget what’s happened. Definitely a lot to learn from this game and see to it that we come out in the next game all guns blazing.

Shreyas Iyer said during the post-match presentation

Undoubtedly, India had some positives to take from this first game. One of the most prominent is Harshit Rana, returning to good shape. Abhishek Sharma played his role at the top of the order, but the remaining top order struggled on their part. Captain Iyer’s words reflected his belief in the team’s ability to make a turnaround ahead of the start of a hectic English schedule.

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