Did Irish Luck or Boney M sing the Indian team out?

By K.R. Nayar 

Ireland’s 2-0 clean sweep over India in Belfast is shocking. As the reigning T20 world champions, one wonders whether it was the Irish luck that beat India. Also, since the victory happened in Belfast, it may well be that the Ireland team was influenced by Boney M’s famous song Belfast and may have walked out humming the lyrics of the song: “Belfast, Belfast, Belfast. Got to have a belief in, got to have a belief in, got to have a belief in all the people.”

It is indeed the belief in their ability to beat the world champions that gave Ireland their 34-run win in the first T20 match and the nerve-shredding one-run win in the second match. This is not just a historic series sweep for Ireland, but for world cricket itself. To beat India, which hasn’t been beaten in 16 series over three years, is truly remarkable.  

Had it been a one-off win, it could have been attributed to Irish luck, a term associated more with dumb luck rather than actual skill, intelligence, or hard work. But to beat India twice is a reflection of their hard work, combined with confidence in their skill despite lack of experience.

To defend a total of 154 for 8 against India, which has one of the most powerful batting line-ups, is unimaginable. It was made possible for Ireland through an India-born (Rajasthan) left-arm pacer, Jai Moondra. He bowled a dream spell of 3 for 32, removing Indian openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for golden ducks. It was only the fourth time in the entire history of T20Is that both openers have fallen without scoring.

This all-rounder, who moved to Ireland to pursue a Master’s Degree in electronics and communication, has shocked two of the finest T20 batters. In fact, in his T20 debut in the first match of this series, he picked up the wicket of Samson for 5 with his very first delivery. What he did was rewiring the circuits of international cricket.

Moondra, who plays for Leinster Lightning in Ireland, surely deserves the nickname ‘Leinster’s Lightning’, as he has struck with lightning speed in both matches, proving that lightning can indeed strike twice.

Ireland’s women too have proved that they are a rising power, just 24 hours after Ireland’s men defeated India in the first T20 match of the series. The Irish women beat West Indies in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in a group match in England. Time and again cricket has proved that it doesn’t respect reputation—it rewards courage.

India’s defeat has been attributed to its inability to adapt to Ireland’s conditions. The question remains as to why was such a strong team not able to adapt to Ireland’s conditions, that too against an inexperienced side. One should not forget that Ireland has a history of stunning the giants of cricket. In the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, they stunned Pakistan in the West Indies, and in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, they shocked England in Bangalore.

Following the 2-0 series defeat, another question likely to come up is why was teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi not allowed to make his T20I debut in Ireland? If there was a fear that he would fail, then it should be noted that it is the lack of fear that helped Ireland win. Only those who take on challenges can win. In this series, Ireland challenged India and won.

Ireland’s cricketers have also announced to the world that any team that keeps trying and working hard, with belief in themselves, can do wonders. Luck did play a part, but that wasn’t Irish luck; it was, like the lyrics in the Boney M song Belfast, when there is belief in your people, even giants begin to look human.