'Can't take anything for granted': Iyer after Ireland stun India

Captain Shreyas Iyer urged his side to "not take anything for granted" after India slumped to a shock defeat against Ireland in the first T20I in Belfast, marking Ireland's first-ever men's international victory over India.

On a bouncy surface with large square boundaries, India's batters struggled to clear the ropes as Ireland's bowlers pulled their lengths back. It forced the visitors to target the bigger square boundaries, where catches in the deep became a recurring feature.

"You can't take anything for granted," Iyer said in the post-match presentation. "You can't just turn up and win matches. You have to work hard and stay in the moment. If you have the opportunity to squeeze the opponent, you've got to do that. Never take any moment or situation lightly."

The newly-appointed T20I captain, leading India for the first time, enjoyed a good start as Ireland slipped to 51 for 4. But a 64-run partnership between Gareth Delany and Lorcan Tucker swung momentum back in the hosts' favour. India's cause wasn't helped by three dropped catches, with both Delany and Tucker earning reprieves. The bowlers also missed their lengths in the middle overs, allowing Ireland's batters to target the shorter straight boundaries.

"I think initially, the bowlers were bowling well," Iyer said. "They got lateral movement and a couple of wickets. So we got a tremendous start, but in between, we lost execution. We made them hit straight down the ground, where the dimensions are pretty small. When we had to shut down the overs, they were brilliant. I thought 140 would have been an amazing score considering the start we got."

Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker acknowledged India's early efforts, calling it "Test match like". Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana bowled three-over spells in the Powerplay, keeping Ireland to 36/3 before Prasidh Krishna's introduction into the attack. The fast bowler, returning to India's T20I fold, conceded 0 for 57 in his four-over spell.

"India bowled really well at the start," Tucker said. "They bowled really good lengths and didn't waver from them. It nearly felt like a Test match at one stage. But we tried to stay in the game, build a partnership, and took our opportunities when they came later."

Iyer said his team would prefer to "forget what's happened" and move on with the lessons from this loss.

"Yes, definitely," Iyer said when asked if players were rusty. "We're going to forget what's happened. There's a lot to learn from this game, and we'll come out in the next game all guns blazing."

Despite the result, Iyer was keen to take positives from India's first outing of the series. "It's a great experience here. We got to play in these conditions, got a fair idea about the wicket, and it's a great start as a captain."