Ryan ten Doeschate looked as stunned as anyone after India’s 2-0 reverse in Belfast. The assistant coach has celebrated triumphant campaigns at both an ODI Champions Trophy and a T20 World Cup, yet he has now witnessed the same group preside over the end of two long unbeaten runs – a dozen years without losing a home series and, after this week, 16 straight T20I series without defeat.
“There’s a little bit of disbelief,” ten Doeschate admitted when asked for the mood inside the dressing-room. “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.”
Key facts first. Ireland won both matches by limiting India to totals well below par on a surface that rewarded canny bowling and, crucially, strong awareness of a stiff cross-wind sweeping the ground. In each game India managed only two sixes down the ground – both from the spinner – while Ireland found 23 and 33 runs in the same ‘V’ area. India’s bowlers adjusted in the second fixture, yet Ireland’s attack improved again, closing the gaps as the visitors chased.
“So firstly, credit to Ireland,” ten Doeschate continued. “And secondly the learnings for us in terms of being able to adapt to different conditions. That’s probably the biggest takeaway … This is a good lesson in the fact that we’re going to have to adapt and play slightly differently when we go to different countries and play against different teams.”
He did not hide behind excuses. “That was essentially our undoing,” he said of the breeze that dominated both games. “It’s things we spoke about before, but we just didn’t address it well enough out in the middle. I think the big thing was the wind.
“Again, absolutely no excuses, but when presented with a different challenge we have to find solutions of playing in a different manner, in a better manner. I thought Ireland did that very well with the ball. They never let us hit straight. In two matches, I think we hit two straight sixes. They were both off the spinner. They just did the basics really well and we couldn’t combat that.
“We’re probably too used to a sort of a tempo and style where you can hit sixes more freely. I think this will be the case when you go to England as well … we’re going to have to adapt and be a lot smarter about how we’d like to play if we’re going to get wins there.”
Numbers underline the point. Across the series India scored at barely seven an over in overs 7-15, an area where they usually surge past nine. The attempted solution – pulling wider of mid-wicket or slicing over cover – produced miscues in heavy air and a boundary count (24) comfortably beaten by Ireland (31). Hardly an epidemic of poor batting, more a collective mis-calculation.
The bowlers, to their credit, cottoned on quickly. A fuller length in the opening game had travelled; in the second they hit the pitch and took the wind out of the arc, conceding only 142. “That [not getting hit down the ground] was the central focus of our discussion, particularly for the second game,” ten Doeschate said. “I thought we adjusted really well as a bowling unit 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.”
For India the setback is inconvenient rather than disastrous. A short visit to England follows, where early-summer tracks can be quick but still demand discipline. Rotations are expected, yet the central theme – batting tempo without relying solely on brute force – appears locked in for forthcoming meetings with stronger opposition.
Ireland, meanwhile, can savour a landmark. Their seamers Jamie Porter and Josh Little harnessed the gusts expertly, while Harry Tector’s calm fifty in game one and skipper Andrew Balbirnie’s calculated 38 in game two showed how to pace an innings when 160 is a match-winning score, not a halfway mark.
Ten Doeschate finished on a reflective note. India have not suddenly become poor travellers, but the message is clear: read the conditions, respect the local craft, and stay flexible. Fail to do so and even a side “who have just won a World Cup” – his words – will find that a well-drilled opponent can blow them off course.
