Indian opener Abhishek Sharma fell one short of a record-extrending fifth T20I fifty in less than 20 balls in the first game vs Ireland in Belfast on Friday.
Updated: June 27, 2026, 9:16 AM IST
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Indian opener Abhishek Sharma en route to scoring 49 in 1st T20I vs Ireland. (Source: X)
India vs Ireland 2026 1st T20: T20 World Cup champions Team India suffered a humiliating 34-run loss in the first game of two-match T20I series to Ireland at the Civil Service Club ground in Belfast on Friday. It was the first-ever loss for the Indians to Ireland in any format of the game as Shreyas Iyer’s T20I captaincy debut ended in a loss to the minnows.
There was, however, major disappointment for Team India opener and world No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma, who was denied a 11th T20I fifty. Abhishek believed he had completed his fifth fifty in T20I cricket in less than 20 balls – 19 balls on Friday – but after he was caught by Ben Calitz off Liam McCarthy in the 8th over, one run was deducted from his total, which meant he ended his innings at 49 off 20 balls.
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One run was deducted from Abhishek Sharma’s knock after he was dismissed. (Source: X)
Abhishek would have scored his record-extending fifth T20I fifty in less than 20 balls – the most by any batter from a full-member nation – with the second best being 3 fifties. The umpires deducted one run as it was given as leg-bye.
Same old story when Abhishek Sharma gets going.
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The 25-year-old Sunrisers Hyderabad still ended up as the top-scorer with 49 as T20 world champions were bowled out for 148 in 18.5 overs, chasing 183 to win in the first game. Abhishek still became the fastest Indian batter to complete 1000 runs in T20I cricket, having achieved this feat in 528 balls. He beat the record of former T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who had achieved it in 573 balls while Shivam Dube had taken 648 balls.
Abhishek Sharma’s opening partner Sanju Samson and Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya are jointly in 2nd place in this list – bringing up their 1000 runs in 679 balls. If Abhishek had completed his fifty on Friday, he would have scored the third-fastest T20I fifty vs Ireland off 19 balls. Netherland batter Stephan Myburg holds the record with 17-balls fifty in Sylhet in 2014 T20 World Cup while Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das had scored a 18-ball fifty in Chattogram in 2023.
After the game, Abhishek Sharma revealed that the track in Belfast had some help for the bowlers which made run-scoring difficult. “I think there was a little bit in the wicket. I think Ireland’s bowling had some deliveries that were difficult to hit. I feel they bowled quite well and their bowling plan was good,” Abhishek said in the post-match press conference on Friday.
Asked about his mindset in the chase, Abhishek Sharma said, “My mindset is obviously very simple: watch the ball and play. That was the plan. When they were batting and I was fielding, I could see that there were some shots that could be played, and some balls were coming nicely onto the bat. Some shots were not easy to play. So my simple plan was that whether it was the first ball or any ball in the powerplay, I would make full use of it.”
