Without Sooryavanshi, India slumps to another unlikely T20 defeat to IreIand and loses series 2-0

Without Sooryavanshi, India slumps to another unlikely T20 defeat to IreIand and loses series 2-0 | iNFOnews.ca
Ireland's Harry Tector, right, bats during the second T20 Test match between Ireland and India in Belfast, Ireland, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (Liam McBurney/PA via AP)

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — Maybe India should have played Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

With the 15-year-old cricket sensation watching from the sidelines, India slipped remarkably to a second straight T20 loss to Ireland in Belfast on Sunday and a 2-0 series defeat.

Chasing 155 to win after Ireland’s 154-8, India — the reigning world champion in the T20 format — could only score 153-9 and lost by one run.

Sooryavanshi, who is the talk of cricket after being the top run scorer in this year’s Indian Premier League, was left out again by India. He also didn’t play in the first match that India lost by 34 runs on Friday for Ireland’s first-ever win over the Indians in any format.

The next chance for Sooryavanshi — who is aged 15 years and 93 days — to become the youngest player to feature in a top-tier men’s T20 will be in the five-match series in England starting Wednesday.

On current evidence, the Indians might need him.

They lost Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for first-ball ducks and never recovered, with Jai Moondra taking 3-32 and Matthew Hollard 3-26.

Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker said he “can’t quite believe it.”

“(I) challenged the lads to show the world we could do it again,” he said, “and we did it.”

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Without Sooryavanshi, India slumps to another unlikely T20 defeat to IreIand and loses series 2-0 | iNFOnews.ca
India’s Arshdeep Singh bowling during the second T20 Test match between Ireland and India in Belfast, Ireland, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (Liam McBurney/PA via AP)
Without Sooryavanshi, India slumps to another unlikely T20 defeat to IreIand and loses series 2-0 | iNFOnews.ca
India’s players celebrate the wicket of Ireland’s Ross Adair during the second T20 Test match between Ireland and India in Belfast, Ireland, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (Liam McBurney/PA via AP)
Without Sooryavanshi, India slumps to another unlikely T20 defeat to IreIand and loses series 2-0 | iNFOnews.ca
FILE – Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gestures as he warms up before the start of the Indian Premier League cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals in New Chandigarh, India, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia, file)

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