Ryan ten Doeschate Admits India Were 'Outdone and Outsmarted' After Ireland Series Loss

A dressing room in total disbelief.

India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate was not mincing any words after the T20 world champions suffered a stunning 2-0 series defeat against Ireland. “The dressing room was in absolute disbelief after a heartbreaking one-run loss in the second match,” said Ten Doeschate. He didn't look for excuses, preferring to give full credit to the hosts, openly stating that India were just "outdone and outsmarted" by an Irish side who read the playing conditions far better.

Failure to adapt to tougher conditions

The biggest issue with the Indian line-up was a complete inability to adapt to the local environment, especially the heavy winds which blew their normal game plans out of the window. Ten Doeschate said the team’s modern, ultra-aggressive batting template based around power-hitting and clearing the ropes simply didn’t play well in the difficult Irish conditions.

“We’re probably too used to a style of cricket where you can hit sixes more freely. “We have to be a lot smarter in these conditions.”

Maintaining the Aggressive Style, Just Doing It Better

But the assistant coach did find a silver lining in the bowling department while the batsmen struggled to find their feet. He praised the bowlers for the intelligent and quick changes they made in the second game to keep Ireland to a completely chaseable total. Even if the batting group failed to support the effort, ten Doeschate made it clear India won't be ditching their trademark attacking style in the powerplay. Instead, the focus will be on sharper decision-making and learning to adapt on the fly. The team is already looking ahead to a tricky five-match T20 series against England from July 1, and they will have to sort things out quickly.