Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma (Agency photo)
India’s attempt to settle the T20I series against Ireland got off to a disastrous start in Belfast on Sunday as both openers, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, were dismissed for golden ducks in the first over, creating an unwanted record in the process.Jay Mundra scored a brace in the opener, removing Samson and Abhishek off the first ball they faced. This was only the second instance in the history of a T20I involving full member nations where both opening batsmen were dismissed for ducking the first ball in the same innings. The only previous occurrence came in 2018 when Bangladesh pacers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar suffered the same fate against the West Indies in Basseterre.
The collapse did not end there. Mundra returned in the third innings to dismiss skipper Shreyas Iyer, before Ishan Kishan was run out in the fifth over as India fell to four wickets inside the power play while chasing 155.Most Ducks in T20Is in a calendar year (FM Teams)7 Saim Ayoub (2025)6 Richard Ngarava (2024)6 Abhishek Sharma (2026)*The innings also added to Abhishek Sharma’s wicket-taking record. The left-handed opener registered his sixth duck in T20Is in the calendar year 2026, leaving him just one behind Pakistan’s Saim Ayub, who holds the record of seven ducks in a calendar year among full member nations.
Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava also had six ducks in 2024.Both India’s opening batsmen were dismissed for ducks in the T20I inningsRohit Rahane vs Pak Mirpur 2016Gill & Jaiswal vs SA Gqeberha 2023Samson and Abhishek vs Erie Belfast 2026It was also only the third time that both Indian batsmen were dismissed for ducks in the same T20I innings. The previous cases against Pakistan in Mirpur came in 2016, when
Rohit Sharma
Ajinkya Rahane fell without scoring any goals, and in front of South Africa in 2023, when Shubman Gill and Yashavi Jaiswal were sent off for ducks.Earlier in the evening, India did well to restrict Ireland to 154 for 8 after opting to bowl first. The pace trio of Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and debutant Prince Yadav shared the early wickets to reduce Ireland to 48 for 3 after eight overs.Making his 100th T20I, Harry Tector stabilized the innings with 53 off 47 balls and put together a 65-run partnership with Ben Calitz, who made 37 off 23 deliveries.
Shivam Dube then turned things around for India by claiming two wickets in successive deliveries during the 15th over.India handed T20I debuts to batting all-rounder Suryansh Shidge and fast bowler Prince Yadav, while 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again missed out on a place in the playing XI.The visitors went into the match trailing 0-1 in the series after suffering a historic 34-run defeat in the opener, Ireland’s first ever win over India in international cricket.