'There's a little bit of disbelief': ten Doeschate on Ireland defeat

India's shock 2-0 T20I series defeat to Ireland left assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitting there was "disbelief" in the dressing room, while insisting the series exposed a pressing need for batters to adapt more quickly to unfamiliar conditions rather than abandon their aggressive identity.

The defeat ended India's 16-series unbeaten streak in T20Is, coming just three months after their second T20 World Cup triumph. It also marked the second major streak to end under the current management led by Gautam Gambhir.

"There's a little bit of disbelief," ten Doeschate said on Sunday. "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."

He added: "The learnings for us in terms of being able to adapt to different conditions — that's probably the biggest takeaway. The guys really know how to play in India. This is a good lesson that we're going to have to adapt and play slightly differently when we go to different countries."

According to ten Doeschate, India's inability to adjust after months of playing T20 cricket in the subcontinent proved decisive. Ireland consistently denied batters scoring opportunities straight down the ground.

"That was essentially our undoing," he said. "We just didn't address it well enough out in the middle. I think the big thing was the wind. When presented with a different challenge we have to find solutions. Ireland never let us hit straight — in two matches, I think we hit two straight sixes, both off the spinner."

He noted: "We're probably too used to a tempo and style where you can hit sixes more freely. That was the central focus of our discussion, particularly for the second game. I thought we adjusted really well as a bowling unit, but again with the ball they were fantastic."

Despite the setback, ten Doeschate cautioned against reading the result as a reason to dilute India's attacking approach, particularly in the Powerplay.

"It's been a strong part of the team's identity over the last two years, that we really try to dominate the Powerplay," he said. "I'd certainly be cautious about saying let's be very careful upfront. That's not the way we want to play. We just want to take better options."

India's preparation was less than ideal, arriving shortly before the series with only one training session, and an additional practice washed out. But ten Doeschate refused to use that as an excuse.

"In hindsight, I wouldn't have done things differently," he said. "The training facilities weren't ideal. But no excuse. If we're really critical of ourselves, it's the desire to adapt and play differently when presented with a different challenge."

Ten Doeschate also praised Ireland's achievement.

"Without being disrespectful, no," he said when asked if he expected such a challenge. "You mark guys player to player and what the Indian players have achieved — two World Cups on the bounce, hundreds of IPL games. That just underlines what an achievement this is for Ireland.

"I thought the Irish were fantastic over both days. Not razzmatazz 240, 250 cricket — they were smart enough to navigate their way to two good scores. I'm pretty chuffed for them. To see them make progress like that and win by making the most of what they have is very impressive. We take our hats off to them."