New Delhi: Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker After leading his team to a historic first-ever victory over India in men’s international cricket, he has set his sights on bigger prizes and declared that a series victory over the reigning T20 world champions would be “very special”.“Ireland scored a staggering 34 runs in the opening T20I in Belfast on Friday and Tucker was careful not to get carried away with the victory but admitted the chance to complete a famous series win at home had lit up the atmosphere in the dressing room.“Absolutely, yeah. A series win against India at home would be very special,” Tucker said after the game. “I think the lads are definitely eager to get back here. The energy today was fantastic, the crowd was fantastic, it was really special.”
“We scraped through and stayed in the game”
Tucker described the win as one of the finest moments in Irish cricket, especially considering it came against the two-time defending T20 World Cup champions.“It’s pretty special. It’s down to the lads,” he said. “We barely made it through that game. We went through some tough times, but we persevered. We were diligent, we worked hard, and we were lucky enough that it paid off in the end.”Also read: India suffer historic Irish shock as world champion curse strikes againAfter India took full advantage of the conditions, Ireland struggled at 3 for 36 before Tucker stabilized the innings with 50 off 36 balls.Tucker recalled his crucial partnership with Gareth Delany, who struck 49, and praised India’s disciplined bowling before explaining how Ireland were patiently rebuilding.“India played really well right from the start. They stuck to their guns and didn’t really waver. At one stage it almost felt like a Test match. But we tried to stay in the game, build partnerships and then take our chances when they came.”
Received praise from the captain for his debut
Tucker also gave special praise to debutants Jay Mudra and Matt Hollard, whose five-wicket combination devastated India’s batting line-up.“I think we learned a lot from India’s bowling. We told the lads to stick to those lengths as well and they showed their skill, accuracy and ability to execute the plan. Definitely credit to them.”He added that the result reflected years of hard work behind the scenes.“Beating the world champions at home is very special. Both debutants were outstanding but it’s also a credit to everyone behind the scenes at Cricket Ireland. Everyone has worked so hard and a result like this is why we do it.”Led by new captain Shreyas Iyer, India were bowled out for 148 and Ireland were bowled out for 182 for 9, leaving Tucker and his team just one win away from a landmark series victory over one of world cricket’s powerhouses.
